Julen Lopetegui holds talks with Jean-Clair Todibo as West Ham United transfer stance emerges
West Ham United’s move for Jean-Clair Todibo may not be dead after Julen Lopetegui held talks with the player, according to Nice-Matin.
Writing on their website (10 July), the French news outlet report that the Hammers’ £30m bid that was rejected remains the only official offer that Nice have received for the centre-back.
West Ham have since moved on and signed Max Kilman [Calciomercato, 8 July] but a deal could be resurrected if Kurt Zouma or Nayef Aguerd are sold, and Lopetegui has held talks with the 24-year-old to convince him about a move to the London Stadium.
West Ham United to upgrade defence with Jean-Clair Todibo
After the arrival of Max Kilman from Wolves this summer, the defence is already much stronger than it was after the exit of Angelo Ogbonna.
But there are big question marks about Zouma and Aguerd’s futures and if they are to move on, then a replacement will be needed to ensure the squad isn’t left short on options.
Todibo is a highly in-demand defender with several clubs interested in doing a deal with Nice for him, but the £40million asking price is proving to be quite high.
With West Ham having already tabled a bid for him that was rejected, if they were to make a sale that would surely add to their budget and allow them to bid again and get closer to the asking price.
It won’t be an easy deal to do if they wait too long, but the fact everyone is reportedly open to getting a deal done means it can’t be ruled out completely.
In other West Ham news, agents are keeping the Hammers informed about a player’s situation after bids were accepted.
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