- The Hammers are attempting to secure a £34million deal for Jean Clair-Todibo
- Juventus previously led the race to sign the French central defender
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West Ham made a fresh bid to sign Jean-Clair Todibo from Nice on Thursday evening for a fee of £34million.
The centre-back impressed in Ligue 1 last season, helping Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s club qualify for the Europa League.
The club was expected to move to Manchester United, another Ratcliffe signing, but UEFA blocked the move due to rules on multi-club ownership.
United’s sudden withdrawal from negotiations paved the way for other top European clubs to open talks with Nice over the defender who previously left for Barcelona as a youngster.
Juventus were keen to keep him, as Thiago Motta wants to modernise the Italian club’s squad and Todibo was keen to move to Turin despite interest from the Premier League.
West Ham have revived their bid to sign Jean-Clair Todibo from Nice for a fee of £34million
The Nice centre-back (left) has set his sights on a move to Italian giants Juventus
West Ham technical director Tim Steidten has travelled to France to try and finalise negotiations for Todibo
Their progress in negotiations with the French club seems to indicate that the Hammers will not make another move, but the looming departure of Kurt Zouma to Saudi Arabia has forced the Premier League club to re-enter the transfer market.
West Ham’s sporting director Tim Steidten has travelled to France to finalise negotiations after the centre-back’s proposed move to Juventus stalled.
He has now made a counter-offer, which is for a season-long loan, with an obligation to pay £34m next year, plus a sell-on clause.
West Ham captain Kurt Zouma is set to complete a move to Saudi Pro League club Shabab Al Ahli
Talks are currently underway between the two parties, with West Ham hoping to complete the transfer this weekend. However, they will first need to convince Todibo that this is the best move for his career.
Meanwhile, Zouma leaves for Saudi Pro League club Shabab Al Ahli and manager Julen Lopetegui is facing a defensive crisis with the new Premier League season just a week away.
West Ham also considered Chelsea’s Trevoh Chalobah and Aston Villa’s Diego Carlos, but Todibo was their main target despite having their proposals rejected earlier in the transfer window.
Todibo had set his sights on a transfer to Juventus, but the Italians could not reach an agreement as they were in financial trouble themselves and had put eight first-team stars up for sale.