Jean-Clair Todibo sent clear Nuno Espirito Santo message in West Ham win vs Fulham – here’s why
West Ham United took a huge step towards Premier League safety on Wednesday night.
Nuno Espirito Santo‘s side rose to a tough away test at Craven Cottage, beating Fulham 1-0 thanks to a Crysencio Summerville 65th-minute winner.
It was a win that moved West Ham level with 17th-placed Nottingham Forest on 28 points, after Vitor Pereira’s men also claimed a major scalp on the road, drawing 2-2 with Man City at the Etihad Stadium.
The Hammers were made to work for their win over the Cottagers, seeing out late Fulham pressure towards the end of the game, but saw the game out well for a vital three points.
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Jean-Clair Todibo was excellent on West Ham return v Fulham
There were a host of players wearing claret and blue on Wednesday night that put in standout performances.
Mads Hermansen put his dismal showing against Liverpool last time out behind him, and made a number of big saves to help preserve the points for the London Stadium outfit.
Jarrod Bowen and Summerville were their typically excellent selves, whilst Taty Castellanos once again put himself about in attack, without getting the rewards of a goal to show for his industry.
However, it was centre-back Jean-Clair Todibo that made a noticeable impact upon his return to the West Ham starting XI, having not been seen since his sending off in the 3-2 defeat to Chelsea on 31 January.
As detailed by Sofascore, the French international made nine clearances against Fulham, won three out of his five aerial duels and wasn’t dribbled past once.
He also took 53 touches in the game with no unsuccessful touches either, made 17 carries with the ball and only lost possession four times.
The 26-year-old replaced Konstantinos Mavropanos in the starting XI, and his showing at Craven Cottage would suggest it’s going to be tough for the Hammers’ Greek defender to oust him from the lineup moving forward.
West Ham won’t have much hope of keeping Todibo if relegated
There are certain players that West Ham fans will already have accepted won’t be sticking around if they’re relegated to the Championship this season, and Todibo is surely one of them.
Now 26 and in the prime of his career, the central defender will be looking to end the season strongly to give himself the best chance of breaking into France’s World Cup squad this summer.
Todibo has already been capped twice for Les Bleus, and has proven himself to be a quality defender across his spells with the likes of West Ham, Nice, Schalke and Barcelona respectively.
But, he is contracted with West Ham until 2029, meaning that the Hammers would be in a strong position to receive a premium price for him this summer should they drop into the second tier.
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