According to journalist Florian Plettenberg, West Ham United are preparing a fresh bid for Nice defender Jean-Clair Todibo after their opening offer was turned down.
The Hammers are aiming to strengthen their central defensive department ahead of next season and the hierarchy have identified Jean-Clair Todibo as one of their top transfer targets
The London club recently made a formal bid worth £30 million for the 24-year-old, but the proposal was immediately rejected.
Plettenberg now reveals that West Ham have not left the race for the France international and a new offer is possible.
Top-class
Todibo has been linked with several high-profile Premier League teams in the last year. He was initially on the radar of Manchester United while Tottenham Hotspur were also fancied to sign him.
Spurs have moved on after the purchase of Radu Dragusin from Genoa last winter. United still hold an interest, but they are blocked from signing him after Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s minority takeover.
With both United and Nice competing in the Europa League and having the same owner, UEFA have an agreement in place that there won’t be any transfer dealings between them this summer.
This has opened the door for the Hammers to land his signature. Their opening proposal has been turned down, but the London outfit may want to test Nice’s resolve with an improved transfer bid.
Todibo would be a fantastic signing for Julen Lopetegui’s side. He is a strong ball-playing centre-back and completed almost 74 passes per outing in Ligue 1 last season with an accuracy of 90%.
The centre-back also won 60% of his ground and aerial duels with 7.1 recoveries and 3.1 clearances per appearance. He also won almost 2 tackles per game while keeping 14 clean sheets.
Todibo, who has been praised as a defender with ‘incredible potential‘ by his former Nice manager Francesco Farioli, would definitely add more solidity to the Hammers backline next season.
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