Jean-Clair Todibo during his time on loan with Schalke (Getty Images)
According to Daily Mail, Everton have made contacts with Barcelona over a possible £17.4m move for defender Jean-Clair Todibo. He currently plies his trade with FC Schalke in the Bundesliga.
Todibo, 20, came through the ranks of Toulouse’s youth system and after just 10 games with the club’s senior side, Barcelona signed him in January 2019. The highly-rated centre-back, however, couldn’t establish himself as the first-choice in the defence due to the presence of Gerard Pique and Clement Lenglet and was sent on loan to Schalke.
Before he could make a name for himself during the loan spell, the league got suspended. The report suggests that Barcelona are willing to offload the Frenchman to raise funds for their next transfer window.
Meanwhile, the Toffees have struggled with inconsistency throughout the campaign. Despite a change in management, they have lacked intensity in their performances. After just 3 wins from their last 9 games, Everton are in 12th position in the league table.
Carlo Ancelotti has a lot of work to be done ahead of the new season and he should bring in reinforcements to key areas this summer. One area where the manager should focus on strengthening is the backline. The defensive unit has already conceded 46 goals so far, which is poor according to their standards.
Yerry Mina, Michael Keane and Mason Holgate are the only three centre-backs available at the manager’s disposal. While Holgate has done a decent job so far, Mina and Keane have been stretched on several occasions. Thus, the manager needs to reinforce their backline with youngsters who could be seen as future prospects.
In that regard, signing Todibo from Barcelona would do them a world of good. The Frenchman is a highly-rated defender and has all the attributes to succeed at the highest level. In the 5 games he has featured this term for Schalke, he has helped them keep 2 clean sheets.
He has also been a regular member in the French U20 squad and would be a huge boost to Everton’s defence if he joins them. His inclusion would also bring healthy competition to the squad and the manager would have an extra option to choose from.
At 20, Todibo has a huge future ahead of him and with the right opportunities, he could establish himself in the heart of the defence. At the same time, the Toffees need to add depth to their squad if they are to do better next season. Thus, they should manage to lure the youngster to Goodison Park at the earliest.
