Premier League Everton have reportedly held talks to bring Barcelona’s Schalke loanee Jean-Clair Todibo to Goodison Park this summer.
Lothar Matthaus is not an easy man to please.
But it speaks volumes about Jean-Clair Todibo’s raw potential, after just 90 minutes of action, the Barcelona starlet had one of the world’s toughest critics singing his praises (Sport).
“Todibo is the best centre back I’ve seen in a long time,” the Germany legend and 1990 Ballon D’Or winner told Sport after watching the 20-year-old marshal Lautaro Martinez and Romelu Lukaku out of the game during a Champions League clash at the San Siro.
“He would be a good reinforcement for Schalke and an enrichment for the Bundesliga. At 20 he is incredibly calm, he always finds interesting solutions.”
That outing against Inter was one of just three appearances Tobido made in Barca colours during the first half of a campaign spent largely on the bench. But since making a move to the Bundesliga in January, joining Schalke on loan, the former Toulouse starlet has seized the opportunity to prove his worth on a weekly basis.
According to The Mail, Everton are now in talks over a potential £17.4 million deal which would see Todibo follow in the footsteps of Lucas Digne, Andre Gomes and Yerry Mina by swapping Catalonia for Merseyside.
The Toffees have been scouring the market for a new centre-half ever since Phil Jagielka and Kurt Zouma packed their bags last year and Todibo, with his electric pace and superb reading of the game, looks every inch another rough diamond unearthed by Marcel Brands.
And if Matthaus is right, Everton could soon have a player capable of strolling into Carlo Ancelotti’s starting XI without breaking sweat.
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