Barcelona have successfully pushed forward the deal to sign Jean-Clair Todibo from Toulouse, the La Liga champions announced on Thursday.
Barcelona have made an official statement to announce that Jean-Clair Todibo will join the club with immediate effect, after they reached an agreement with Toulouse to bring his transfer forward by five months. The teenage defensive sensation has signed a four-and-a-half year deal that will keep him at the Nou Camp till the summer of 2023.
Jean-Clair Todibo is not a name that many football fans across the globe would have known about before this season. In fact, the teenager was not even offered a professional contract by Toulouse before he broke into their first-team setup early on in the current campaign.
? @jctodibo , our new number 6️⃣ ?? pic.twitter.com/eFQueHJniD
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) January 31, 2019
Upon making his senior debut for the Ligue 1 outfit though, the Frenchman’s talent shone through, and he has since been monitored by a number of top European clubs. Barcelona though, succeeded in the race to sign Todibo, having initially agreed to sign him on a free transfer in the summer.
The La Liga champions have indeed been on the lookout for a centre-back who could be a long-term replacement for Gerard Pique, who is now on the wrong side of 30. While Matthijs de Ligt was believed to be the priority for Barcelona around the summer, Todibo emerged as the ideal candidate all of a sudden.
The French youngster’s ability to play as a defensive midfielder would have also impressed the Catalans. And, all it took for Todibo to impress Barcelona were the ten professional games that he played upon making his first-team debut for Toulouse before they benched him indefinitely due to his contractual impasse.
With the 19-year-old not reaching an agreement over a new contract with the Ligue 1 side, Barcelona pounced on the opportunity. The Blaugrana had agreed a deal to bring Todibo to Camp Nou in the summer on a free transfer, but have now pushed forward to sign him permanently in the winter itself.
The player’s capture capped off a busy deadline day for Barcelona, who also signed Emerson from Atletico Mineiro while agreeing a deal to let Denis Suarez join Arsenal on loan. As far as Todibo is concerned, the teenage prodigy has signed a four-and-a-half year deal that ties him to the club till the summer of 2023.
Jean-Clair Todibo will now have the chance to forge a long-term central defensive unit comprising of compatriots Samuel Umtiti and Clement Lenglet, who also arrived at Camp Nou this season, and it remains to be seen how well he can succeed Gerard Pique in the Barcelona backline in due time.
