What a topsy-turvy day it has been for young Barcelona defender Jean-Clair Todibo. After having his loan at Benfica terminated, the Blaugranas confirmed that the Frenchman is moving to OGC Nice for the rest of the season. There will be a buy option of €8.5 million.
Barcelona Defender Jean-Clair Todibo Joins Nice on Loan
Unsuccessful Loan Spell
The time he spent on loan at Benfica will surely not have done him any good. He only made two appearances, both in cup competitions, and was very far down in the pecking order.
But worst of all, his coach, Jorge Jesus, made some very negative public comments about him.
“He [Todibo] doesn’t have the physical or the tactical conditions,” the Benfica boss said. “He’s not worked with the team. He’s not one of the players I am thinking of.”
To hear his manager speak about him like that could not have been easy, especially since it’s probably not far off what current Barca manager Ronald Koeman thinks of him. Even when faced with a massive centre-back shortage, Koeman opted to promote young Oscar Mingueza from Barca B rather than give Todibo a chance.
He never had a future at Benfica, and it’s unlikely he’ll have a future at Barcelona either.
Tactical Indiscipline
Barcelona’s purchase of Todibo was always seen as strange by neutrals, and indeed Barca fans. Although he may be strong and fast, he always seemed to lack the tactical intelligence that made Barca defenders so successful.
For example, Ronald Araujo looks like he could finally be the man to step up and replace Gerard Pique. Simply put, he is a rock at the back. He’s also strong and very fast, but he combines that with excellent positioning and tactical awareness.
While Todibo does have skill on the ball, showing off at the back with stepovers and rabonas, that doesn’t matter if he’s not in the right positions defensively. For all his coaches to be saying the same thing about him, there must be some element of truth to it.
Unfortunately, Jean-Clair Todibo still has some massive strides he has to take before he can play at a club as big as Barca. Hopefully, he gets a chance at Nice to show what he can do, and his career takes off from there.
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