Moments after the final whistle against Ipswich Town, there were two people Jean-Clair Todibo wanted to embrace.
After an important 4-1 home victory, the French defender hugged and high-fived his defensive partner Maximilian Kilman and goalkeeper Alphonse Areola. Kilman, 27, had continued his solid start following his £40million ($52.3m) summer switch from Wolverhampton Wanderers. In different circumstances, Todibo, 24, could have been playing for Juventus, but it was West Ham who secured his signature from Nice on a season-long loan with an obligation to buy for £34million ($44.7m).
The win against Ipswich proved that Todibo and Kilman are developing a promising partnership. They displayed the hallmarks of a good defensive pairing by limiting Ipswich’s attacking quartet of Liam Delap, Jack Clarke, Omari Hutchinson and Wes Burns.
Todibo and Kilman have now started the games against Bournemouth, Liverpool, Brentford and newly-promoted Ipswich. Bryan Mbeumo, of Brentford, scored in the first minute against West Ham, but Kilman and Todibo nullified the threat of Mbuemo and his attacking colleagues Fabio Carvalho and Kevin Schade for the rest of the game, allowing the team to pick up a 1-1 draw.
A solid centre-back partnership is key to the success of any team. When West Ham qualified for Europe, the settled pairing of Kurt Zouma and Craig Dawson proved crucial. But following Dawson’s departure to Wolves in January 2023, Zouma and Nayef Aguerd never reached the same heights. They struggled with consistency, were error-prone and were part of a porous defence.
The pair did not feature in Julen Lopetegui’s plans. Aguerd and Zouma joined Real Sociedad and Saudi Pro League club Al Orobah respectively on season-long loans in the summer.
But there have been other partnerships that have been the foundations of great West Ham sides.
Under former manager John Lyall, Tony Gale and Alvin Martin excelled in 1985-86, as West Ham finished third in the old First Division.
Rio Ferdinand and Slaven Bilic caught the eye in the 1996-97 season. One of Ferdinand’s best seasons at West Ham was in 1998-99 alongside Ian Pearce and Neil Ruddock in a back three. West Ham won the Intertoto Cup and finished fifth — their highest in the Premier League. The defensive trio Ferdinand, Steve Potts and Igor Stimac were solid in 1999-2000.
Anton Ferdinand and Danny Gabbidon helped Alan Pardew’s side reach the FA Cup final in 2006, which they lost against Liverpool on penalties. More recently, James Collins and Angelo Ogbonna impressed, as did Winston Reid and Ogbonna between 2015 and 2018.
On paper, Todibo and Kilman is West Ham’s most promising defensive partnership in years. Lopetegui made Kilman one of his defensive targets when he was appointed head coach in May. But before Kilman’s arrival, 28-year-old Brazil defender Fabricio Bruno was on course to become Lopetegui’s first signing for £15million. But he was not satisfied with West Ham’s contract offer and the deal collapsed. It proved to be a blessing in disguise.
In June, technical director Tim Steidten and Lopetegui identified Todibo as a transfer target, but the defender had interest from other European clubs. Red Bull Salzburg defender Oumar Solet was lined up as an alternative, but Steidten and Areola — who asked for daily updates about his compatriot’s move — managed to convince Todibo to join.
And the partnership works. In part, that is due to individual quality. Last season in the league, Kilman ranked eighth among defenders for interceptions made. This campaign he has made 10 interceptions, the sixth highest. It is a strong area of his game. An example below shows Kilman, Todibo and Konstantinos Mavropanos forming a solid defensive line, as Mbeumo aims to thread a pass to Schade.
Schade runs in between Todibo and Kilman but the latter makes a key interception to repel the threat on goal.
Near the hour-mark, Keane Lewis-Potter makes a surging run into the box. His two options are Carvalho and Mbeumo.
Keane-Potter tries to tee up one of his team-mates, which Todibo fails to intercept, but Kilman is on hand to make the clearance.
While their defensive attributes will help the team in the long-term, so too will their offensive traits. In the 2-0 away win against Crystal Palace, Kilman showed he is capable of playing out from the back, providing an assist for Jarrod Bowen.
In the 4-1 home win against Ipswich, Todibo showed he can also be a ball carrier. The defender is in possession and decides to initiate an attack.
He advances forward, unchallenged and Michail Antonio sets off on a run.
Todibo surges past Kalvin Phillips and Jack Clarke. Once he is in the opposition half he threads a pass to Antonio. It is a simple passage of play but something we seldom saw from Zouma and Aguerd.
Lopetegui was slow to integrate Todibo into the XI because he did not have a full pre-season, but the centre-back has dislodged Mavropanos. The Todibo-Kilman axis could be a turning point for West Ham’s slow start to the season. The club have yielded eight points from their first six league games, but Lopetegui could now benefit from a settled back four, with the additions of Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Emerson Palmieri.
Kilman and Todibo are clearly going to be first choice, even if West Ham also have Mavropanos and Kaelan Casey available. Aaron Cresswell and Edson Alvarez are also capable of playing centre-back. It is why the club opted against signing centre-back John Egan, who was on trial in September.
Upcoming games against Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United will be good tests for Todibo and Kilman. A leaky defence has often undermined West Ham’s progress, but early signs suggest Todibo and Kilman will be an exception.
(Top photos: Getty Images)
