Chelsea may be in danger of falling into the same trap again if Manchester United decide to battle the west London giants for the signature of Nice centre-back Jean-Clair Todibo. Blues owner Todd Boehly was forced to stump up a fee that could rise to a British record £115million to prise Moises Caicedo away from Brighton in the summer after the Seagulls had already reportedly accepted a £110m bid from Liverpool in exchange for the midfielder. And a bidding war for Todibo could now commence.
Chelsea have shelled out mega money on a whole host of signings since Boehly bought the club at the end of May 2022 and are now said to be targeting Todibo.
According to TEAMtalk, Nice want £50m in exchange for Todibo but may be willing to strike a deal for nearer £40m. However, United and Tottenham are also interested in landing the 24-year-old, as are multiple major European sides. So the Blues may have a transfer battle on their hands and could end up paying more than they would ideally like to if the Red Devils go all out to get their hands on the player.
Boehly hasn’t been afraid of spending vast sums of cash to bolster the Chelsea squad throughout his tenure, with the 50-year-old stumping up around £1billion on players. Last summer, Chelsea and Liverpool were locked in a battle to sign Caicedo following the midfielder’s impressive displays on the south coast. And when Brighton sanctioned the star’s move to the northwest, the Blues were hardly ever likely to see a smaller offer accepted and ended up paying even more over the odds for a player who had only had a few years of Premier League experience.
And now, they face falling into the same trap with a bidding war for Todibo set to see his price tag soar. Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino wants to build a new spine for his team, and work has begun on the addition of a centre-back.
Chelsea may hold the advantage when it comes to transfer negotiations with Todibo as the player’s agent is Bruno Satin, who also represents ex-Blues ace Kalidou Koulibaly. And the west Londoners have already reached out to Satin to find out whether a deal for Todibo could be on the table.
Todibo joined Toulouse as a 16-year-old in 2016 before moving to Barcelona two-and-a-half years later. He failed to make the grade at the Nou Camp following loan spells with Schalke and Benfica, however, and joined Nice in the summer of 2021 following an initial loan spell at the club.
The defender has impressed since returning to his homeland and has made 117 appearances for his current employers. He was handed his international debut for France during a 2-1 friendly defeat at the hands of Germany in September and won his second cap during his country’s 14-0 Euro 2024 qualifying victory over Gibraltar in November.
