Everton in hot pursuit of OGC Nice defender Jean-Clair Todibo amid Newcastle United development
Everton are among a number of clubs in the hunt to sign OGC Nice centre-back Jean-Clair Todibo this summer, according to Nice-Matin
The French newspaper reported via their print edition on Friday (15 July, page 46) that Newcastle United, Manchester United, AC Milan, Napoli and Sevilla are also keen on signing the 22-year-old defender.
It is understood that Nice’s hierarchy is in a fight to keep hold of the former Barcelona and Toulouse player, who’s previously represented France’s Under-20s.
Defensive recruitment
Everton have already added to their defence this summer with the signing of James Tarkowski on a free transfer.
However, there’s still room for improvement in Frank Lampard’s back-line because some of the defensive displays last season were horrific.
Michael Keane and Ben Godfrey were particularly prone to errors while Yerry Mina cannot be trusted to string together half an hour of playing time before getting injured.
Todibo looks as though he could be a strong signing.
Last season, he played 40 times in all competitions for Nice as they finished fifth in Ligue 1 and qualified for the Europa Conference League.
Todibi also helped Nice reach the Coupe de France final by beating PSG and Marseille. However, they fell at the final hurdle by losing 1-0 to Nantes.
With Todibo in their defence, Nice conceded just 36 goals in their 38 Ligue 1 matches, meaning they had the joint-best defensive record in France’s top-flight with PSG.
In 2019, the Daily Mail described Todibo as being similar to Raphael Varane, adding that “he’s 6ft 2ins but he also has excellent spring” and “has good feet too”.
He’s also said to be really strong in the air and is capable of scoring the occasional “towering header”.
It feels as though Todibo would be a good signing but at this point, there’s nothing to suggest the Blues are actually making a move for the Frenchman and their interest in him is nothing more than just that.