When talks with Jean-Clair Todibo and West Ham United reached an advanced stage, Alphonse Areola phoned the defender for daily updates on the deal.
West Ham’s goalkeeper had advised his compatriot to reject a move to Juventus and was lobbying him to join him in east London. He was delighted when Todibo joined from Nice on a season-long loan, with an obligation to buy for £34million ($44.7m).
The 24-year-old centre-back had been identified as a transfer target by West Ham in June, but Julen Lopetegui’s side were far from the only European club interested in signing him.
In July, the France international (two caps, both won in 2023) had a meeting with Newcastle United, but they ended up unsuccessfully pursuing their first-choice transfer target, Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi.
Juventus emerged as the main rivals to West Ham, largely because they could offer Champions League football. But the Italian side stalled when it came to finalising the deal and, as The Athletic reported last month, technical director Tim Steidten played an important role in getting Todibo to join West Ham.
Todibo made his debut in the season opener against Aston Villa, coming on after 85 minutes, with his first full start coming in the Carabao Cup against Bournemouth, when he was replaced at half-time.
This is the story of how the highly rated defender went from the suburbs of Paris to the Premier League, including:
- Being in a coma after a car accident
- His “miracle” recovery and telling his coach, “I’ll play football again”
- Bouncing back from a failed spell at Barcelona
- The ex-team-mate who sees him as West Ham’s William Saliba
Todibo’s journey to the upper echelons of football was almost over before it began.
He grew up in the north-eastern suburbs of Paris and at the age of six joined local side Les Lilas. He loved all sports, and it was on his way to judo practice three years later when he was hit by a car.
“He was told he could not walk again,” says Jonathan Hakoun, Les Lilas’ sporting director. “He was in a coma for a few days and had a lot of injuries. It was really bad. But when he woke up, I went to visit him in the hospital and he said, ‘I’ll play football again’. He surprised everyone when he started playing two years later.
“It was a miracle that he recovered so quickly. If someone else in the academy had suffered something unfortunate like that, I doubt they would have made a full recovery. But Todibo is a special boy and his determination helped him massively. That’s what made him standout from all the other young players.
“Before the car accident we reached the semi-final final of a tournament, which was thanks to Todibo, but his injuries meant he couldn’t play in the final. We won and I brought the trophy to the hospital so he could hold it and that was a lovely moment.”
He was a defensive midfielder in his early years and his idols were former Brazil and Chelsea defender Thiago Silva and ex-AC Milan and Juventus midfielder Andrea Pirlo. Despite not being initially considered one of the best prospects at Les Lilas, his work ethic enabled him to climb up the ranks.
“He was a hard worker and if training was at 1oam, he would be there at 9am,” Hakoun tells The Athletic. “He stayed behind after training and always went the extra mile to improve. When he joined the academy we had players that were better than him, but he was determined to do well. His mindset really impressed me for someone so young.
“Every year he comes back to the club to bring jerseys for the kids. He doesn’t have to do that, so it’s nice he’s still humble and remembers what we did for him when he was young.”
Les Lilas’s first team play in the fifth tier of French football, but Todibo showed enough potential to leave for Ligue 1 side Toulouse when he was 16. It is a move Amadou N’Diaye, Todibo’s coach at Les Lilas, remains proud of.
“He was a respectful child, always smiling, win, lose or draw,” N’Diaye says. “I remember Todibo had a bad match and after, he and another player had to play with the B team. If they didn’t have a great match, they couldn’t come back to train with the A team. There was a lot riding on it. But they both played well and Todibo scored five goals. When I saw him at training the next day he had a massive smile. He knew he had had a great match and that was probably a turning point for him. He gained more self-belief.
“We started to experiment with his position by playing him as an attacking midfielder when he was 12, 13. He was very strong but he struggled with consistency so we switched him back to defensive midfield. I remember he had a trial at Auxerre but there was no follow-up and that motivated him even more. I was happy for him when he joined Toulouse and I was there in the stands for his first match (against Bordeaux) as a professional footballer. Now I’m proud every time I see him on the field.
“For Todibo, it is not a story of talent but rather of his work ethic and determination. He sets goals and does everything possible to achieve them. That’s why he’s gone from Les Lilas to the Premier League.”
Todibo had trials at Nottingham and Manchester United before joining Toulouse in 2016. Manchester United opted not to sign him because they felt he was not physically ready for English football. Todibo responded by thriving in Toulouse’s academy. Two years later, under manager Alain Casanova, he received his first-team debut.
“At the time his playing style reminded me of Etienne Capoue,” says former Toulouse team-mate Steeve Yago. “After one week of training, we saw he had potential. Technically and physically, he was already competing with our starting team, even though he was still very young.
“Several times I went to see him play with the reserve team. On one occasion I was with a friend and and he asked, ‘Who’s that player?’ He was talking about Todibo because he impressed him a lot.
“The biggest change in his confidence came when he was converted into a centre-back. He looked comfortable and Alain Casanova and Jean-Christophe Debu, the under-19s coach, deserve a lot of credit because they had a big influence on Todibo. They helped him improve and become the defender he is today.”
Todibo made 10 league appearances for Toulouse but left in January 2019 having failed to agree terms over a professional contract. Instead, he joined Barcelona, but his two-year spell at the Spanish giants comprised mainly of loan spells at Schalke, Benfica and Nice.
“It’s been great to see him go and achieve a big move to West Ham,” says ex-Toulouse team-mate John Bostock. “But if you had told me he would’ve had his trajectory, I probably wouldn’t have seen it. His move to Barcelona happened too soon for him, but he’s improved a lot over the years.
“He was good on the ball at Toulouse and he had a mindset that he wanted to grow. He was hungry to learn and he would ask me questions about ways to improve. He was linked with clubs that were bigger than West Ham, so it shows how well he’s developed.
“But West Ham is a good fit for him and they recruited well in the window. I hope he’ll get the minutes he needs to make a big impression. I’ve seen him have impact on games, like an away match against Rennes where he scored a header. He was 19 and I thought, ‘OK, this boy means business’. His move to Barcelona didn’t work out but that hasn’t defined him. He’s bounced back and now he’s in the Premier League.”
Todibo only made four appearances for Barcelona, having struggled to dislodge fellow defenders Gerard Pique, Samuel Umtiti and Clement Lenglet. Those close to Todibo say it was a move he had to take, but one which failed to reap the rewards.
“After joining Barcelona, he experienced the tough moments footballers go through,” says Hakoun. “He would’ve experienced the frustration of not playing and dealing with disappointment. All footballers go through it at some point.
“When he was on loan at Benfica, he didn’t play a single minute. But he responded in the best way possible by doing well at Nice and playing for the national team. He’s a person who wasn’t naturally gifted at playing football. He’s had to work hard for everything he has achieved.”
Barcelona recalled Todibo from his loan spell at Benfica in January 2021. He then joined Nice on loan for the rest of the season and the move was converted into a permanent deal that summer. It was while playing for Nice that he earned two caps for France, against Germany and Gibraltar.
His national call-up, and the fact that he had Barcelona on his CV, inevitably drew attention. In the last 12 months, Manchester United and Tottenham approached Nice about Todibo’s availability, but they were reluctant to sell.
Todibo’s arrival at West Ham therefore is seen as a huge coup, and a necessary one following the defensive departures of Kurt Zouma and Nayef Aguerd.
Although he struggled against Bournemouth, it is early days in his Premier League career, and in the coming weeks, against Fulham, Chelsea, Liverpool and Brentford, Todibo will aim to give head coach Julen Lopetegui a selection headache as he challenges Maximilian Kilman and Konstantinos Mavropanos for a starting berth.
“I saw Issa Diop join West Ham from Toulouse and now I’ll be watching Todibo closely,” says Yago. “Todibo is only 24 but has played in France, Spain, Germany and now England.
He had tough times at Benfica and Barcelona, and had a point to prove when he joined Nice. He’s now proved people wrong and I can’t wait to see him do well when he comes up against some of the best forwards in the Premier League. I’m backing him to become a success at West Ham like William Saliba has been for Arsenal.”
(Top photo: Rob Newell/CameraSport via Getty Images)
