Jean-Clair Todibo makes transfer decision after West Ham United bid as agents informed
Jean-Clair Todibo has told his agents he only wants to wait for a Juventus move, leading West Ham to react accordingly, la Gazzetta dello Sport reports.
According to the Italian outlet’s website on 8 July the centre-back only has the Old Lady in his mind for where to move next, where he wants to emulate the father of current OCG Nice teammate Khéphren Thuram, former France international defender Lilian Thuram.
Although Todibo’s patience to wait for Juve is not said to be infinite the Hammers responded to the direction of travel by pushing through their £40million deal for Wolves captain Max Kilman.
The Irons had previously offered Nice €35m [£29.5m] and were said to still believe a deal was there to be done [The Athletic, 3 July] but are no longer a competitor in the race for the 24-year-old.
West Ham sign Max Kilman from Wolves after Todibo update
Adding Todibo to Kilman would have been an attractive prospect for Julen Lopetegui but if the player is set on Juventus then it may be a moot point.
Should a switch to Turin not materialise by the time the end of the window is approaching then a deal may still be possible, although Lopetegui and Tim Steidten would surely be better served looking elsewhere rather than waiting around.
It is a positive step that decisive action was taken on the Kilman pursuit but the back line could see Nayef Aguerd and Kurt Zouma both sold with strong interest in both from multiple sources [Sky Sports, 5 July].
The apparent inability to sign Todibo may therefore increase efforts to bring in Lyon’s Jake O’Brien, who would also be cheaper [Sky Sports, 5 July].
The Irons have landed their top defensive target and there are alternative options to Todibo, although some exit deals may need to be done first.
While the Frenchman’s decision will likely be a disappointment to Lopetegui there is still plenty of time left in the window to land another new centre-back from elsewhere.
In other West Ham news, the Hammers have been informed that two more big-money targets are now interested in signing for the club.
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