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Reliable journalist Ben Jacobs has poured cold water on any suggestions that Sir Jim Ratcliffe had any role to play in the collapse of Tottenham Hotspur’s deal for OGC Nice defender and reported Manchester United target Jean-Clair Todibo.
Todibo was linked to United in the summer of 2023 but a move never came to fruition.
His transfer to Old Trafford was dependent on Harry Maguire leaving the club and when this didn’t happen, a possible switch from Ligue 1 to England for the Frenchman also died.
However, the Red Devils are understood to still retain an interest in Todibo, with Erik ten Hag keen on reinforcing his defensive department in the upcoming windows.
Todibo features on a list also consisting of the likes of Sporting Lisbon’s Goncalo Inacio, Benfica’s Antonio Silva, Crystal Palace’s Marc Guehi and Atalanta’s Giorgio Scalvini, just to mention a few names.
Tottenham were keen on adding Todibo to their ranks after their two main centre-backs, Romero and Micky van de Ven suffered long-term injuries.
In their absence, Ange Postecoglou has had to field Emerson Royal and Ben Davies at the heart of the backline. Both players are naturally fullbacks by trade.
However, it soon became clear that Tottenham would not succeed in their efforts to land Todibo.
A previous report covered by The Peoples Person relayed that the North London outfit had dropped out of the race for the France international, to leave United in pole position for his services.
Naturally, there were baseless claims that Ratcliffe – whose deal to complete a 25% investment into United was made official on Christmas Eve – may have sabotaged Tottenham’s swoop for Todibo in an effort to give the Red Devils an advantage.
However, according to Jacobs who spoke on The Football Terrace, such talks are false.
He said, “I reiterate what I said on the Spurs front. For Spurs, Todibo was a clear target, they started talks and they were immediately pessimistic, that’s why they’ve moved on.”
“The reason for that isn’t some plot by Ratcliffe to come in at Man United and then sell the player to Manchester United.”
“It’s because Nice simply don’t want to sell.”
Meanwhile, Tottenham are now focused on signing Genoa’s Radu Drăgușin, who has already given his approval for a move to the side.