OGC Nice sporting director Florent Ghisolfi insists Jean-Clear Todibo will not leave in this winter window amid Premier League interest.
Many top Premier League clubs have set their sights on a top central defender ahead of the January window. Jean-Clair Todibo has featured on the shortlist of many such teams, including Manchester United and Chelsea. But the chances of the 24-year-old Frenchman leaving OGC Nice are slim to none.
Nice had taken the stance late in December and chose not to entertain any bids for Todibo during the month. Tottenham considered him a priority, and knowing the Ligue 1 side’s stance, they moved on to sign Radu Dragusin from Genoa.
Manchester United and Chelsea had thought of approaching the 24-year-old Frenchman. But so far, all’s quiet on that front. Then again, NIce must have made their decision clear to those sides, while alternatively, they could have also placed a huge asking price on the defender.
Now, Nice sporting director Florent Ghisolfi has put the club’s stance into words as his comments via 90min clearly suggest they are not interested in a sale of Todibo. He also named Khephren Thuram as the other player whom they are planning to keep amid interest from Premier League sides.
Ghisolfi said, “As we’ve said since the offset, we are working on stability, and stability is keeping your best players. Jean-Clair and Thuram are definitely that, as players and as leaders as they are vice-captains. We absolutely want to keep them.”
Fabrizio Romano had also cast his doubts over Todibo moving out of Nice in January a while ago, and that information might have been accurate after all. The 24-year-old Frenchman has proved himself as a prominent performer for Nice as the interest from elsewhere did not come as a surprise.
Additionally, the player himself is not overly keen on making the switch to the Premier League this month. Todibo continues to pout in performances that he hopes will be recognised by France manager Didier Deschamps ahead of selecting his final squad for the Euros this summer.
For now, the defender has the objective of making it into the French national side rather than craving a big move. In truth, should he remain with Nice for the remainder of the campaign, the same clubs or more will surely return to the table in the summer, meaning he will get his big move away from the Ligue 1 club at some point in the coming months.
