As per Sport, Everton have made a bid of £20 million for Barcelona’s on-loan defender Jean-Claire Todibo, who has been in mesmerizing form for Schalke 04 since making his debut for the Bundesliga side.
Having played for Toulouse in 2016, he made his Ligue 1 debut against Derby de la Garonne rivals Bordeaux, playing 89 minutes in an eventual 2–1 home win in August 2018. The then 18-year-old defender made an instant impact in that match, that he earned a standing ovation when he was taken off in the 89th minute.
During 2018/19 season, Todibo went on to make just 10 league appearances for Toulouse and contributing a lone goal, winning an average of 1.8 tackles per game (85.7 per cent), 1.4 interceptions and 6.2 clearances.
Known to be versatile and astute with the ball at his feet, this contributed in Todibo’s ability to play either as a central defender or as a central midfield.
Todibo revealed his style of play, as he stated that: “I’ve been inspired a lot by Andrea Pirlo in central midfield, and also by Thiago Silva in defence.”
Soon after singing for Spanish side Barcelona, Todibo was loaned to Bundesliga club Schalke 04 until the end of the season with a buy option for €25 million, plus €5 million in add-ons.
In March, Todibo was named Player of the Month which was voted by the fans.
Germany legend Lothar Matthäus praised the youngster: “Todibo is the best centre-back I’ve seen in a long time. 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.”
“He’s a great player, with a bright future and physical qualities. It’s difficult to play for Barca, but he’s learning fast.” – Former Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde
Schalke head of sport Jochen Schneider spoke to Kicker over Todibo’s stay at Gelsenkirchen: “You don’t have to be a prophet to say that the probability has decreased due to the current crisis situation.”
But Schalke would definitely like to keep Todibo at Veltins Areana, and they could explore a possibility of extending his loan deal by another season inorder to overcome the financial crisis and lose him to the Merseyside club [Kicker].
With Schalke 04’s financial difficulties, the Bundesliga side are finding it hard to compete for the 20-year-old France international defender’s signature, which has already given the Premier league club Everton an advantage in securing the signature of the highly rated centre back, tabling a bid said to be around £20 million according to reports.
