West Ham United make Jean-Clair Todibo transfer decision after £29.6m bid made
West Ham United have pulled out of the race to sign Nice defender Jean-Clair Todibo this summer, according to Calciomercato.
Writing on their website (8 July), the Italian news outlet reports that the centre-back has emerged as a target for Juventus after UEFA blocked any transfer business between Nice and Manchester United.
Nice are demanding at least £33.8m [Nice-Matin, 2 July] to sell the France international this summer, but after the Hammers had a £29.6m bid rejected they opted to sign Max Kilman and won’t return for Todibo.
Julen Lopetegui makes West Ham transfer decision
The Hammers were desperate to strengthen their central defence this summer, and it was clear that Lopetegui made Kilman the primary target [Give Me Sport, 1 July].
Having worked with him at Wolves, the 27-year-old has now joined in a deal worth £40million and it seems as though the Todibo bid was not only to put pressure on Wolves but also to identify potential alternatives if a deal couldn’t be struck.
There was a suggestion that West Ham could try to sign both players with the future of Kurt Zouma and Nayef Aguerd up in the air, but it now seems that the manager has called that chase off.
With several positions in need of additions throughout the rest of the summer window, it may be a sensible decision to put the budget first and reinvest in the squad.
The important thing here is that the management staff got who they wanted to bolster the squad, and they’ve now decided to move on for the good of the club’s situation, so fans can be confident that they’re being run correctly.
In other West Ham news, agents are keeping the Hammers informed about a player’s situation after bids were accepted.
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