Chelsea are now moving in for Nice defender Jean-Clair Todibo amid claims that a potential move to Tottenham Hotspur is ‘collapsing’.
The January transfer window has only been open for just over 24 hours but Premier League teams will already be making moves.
Tottenham Hotspur appear to be very keen on adding another centre back this month as they seek competition for Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven.
Chelsea also seem to be chasing another centre back though and could now pounce for one of Tottenham’s targets this month…
Chelsea move in for Jean-Clair Todibo
Foot Mercato reporter Santi Aouna now claims that Chelsea have opened talks to try and bring Jean-Clair Todibo to Stamford Bridge.
Aouna highlights that Tottenham made a ‘very concrete approach’ to sign Todibo and that he is keen on the idea of joining Spurs.
Nice don’t want to let Todibo leave though and Tottenham now appear to be turning their attention to Genoa defender Radu Dragusin instead.
Fabrizio Romano reports that Tottenham want a centre back in quickly and aren’t really looking to haggle in a drawn-out pursuit of Todibo.
Romano claims that their move for Todibo is ‘on the verge of collapsing’, sparking a potential deal for Draguson whilst opening the door for Chelsea to move in.
Nice still won’t want to sell Todibo but Chelsea may throw a huge amount of money at them in an attempt to force a January deal.
Such an offer coming from Chelsea seems much more likely than a huge offer from Tottenham, with the Blues spending massively under Todd Boehly.
In fact, Chelsea have signed two French, right-footed centre backs in the Boehly era with Wesley Fofana and Axel Disasi arriving.
Yet with Fofana injured and Disasi failing to shine in his first Premier League campaign, Chelsea could spend yet again with a move for Todibo.
Manchester United remain keen too, but Chelsea now appear to be moving in for Todibo in the hope of luring him to London right under Tottenham’s nose.
Tottenham may still hope to benefit from this in some way though, as Chelsea could look to balance their Financial Fair Play commitments by selling Conor Gallagher.
The midfielder is a homegrown academy player and therefore counts as 100% profit against FFP if he is sold.
Tottenham are interested in Gallagher and may well keep close tabs on Chelsea’s push for Todibo in the hope that they can tempt the Blues into selling Gallagher later this month.
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