According to Fabrizio Romano, Tottenham Hotspur was willing to spend “big money” to get Jean-Clair Todibo, a defender for OGC Nice, this month.
Regarding Jean-Clair Todibo’s future, Romano has acknowledged that it will be “extremely difficult” for the defender to leave Nice in the January transfer window.
Prior to the transfer season, Spurs were strongly linked to a move for the French defender; some reports even suggested that Todibo was persuaded by Tottenham’s proposal.
However, Spurs are now focused on Radu Dragusin of Genoa and are still negotiating to sign the defender.
Spurs’ move for Dragusin seems to have been motivated solely by Nice’s refusal to let go of Todibo this month.
Tottenham were prepared to launch a hefty bid for Todibo.
On The United Stand, Romano was asked about the prospect of Manchester United signing Todibo in January.
The trade expert confessed that it would be a’very difficult’ deal for United to complete and stated that Spurs were prepared to make a large offer for the defender.
“I think for Todibo it’s going to be very complicated to see him leaving Nice in January because Tottenham wanted him and they were prepared to put big money on the table,” he said.
“Nice did not want to bargain. Not even at 35 or 40 million euros. So I think it will be really difficult.”
Todibo appeared to be Tottenham’s main target heading into the January transfer window. The ‘amazing’ centre-back has excelled for Nice this season and is garnering interest from a number of major clubs.
However, it is understandable why Nice would not want to sell one of their important players in the middle of the season.
The French club is still in contention for the Ligue 1 title, trailing only league leaders PSG by five points.
Todibo would have been an excellent choice for Spurs owing to his speed and aggressive style of defense, making him ideal opposition for Romero.
However, with Nice unwilling to even negotiate for the 23-year-old, Spurs made the correct option to move on to other targets as soon as possible.
Ange Postecoglou will be hoping that the team can sign a new centre-back as soon as possible. With Cristian Romero and Ben Davies out, the Australian is low on options in central defence.
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