Former Manchester United striker Louis Saha has recommended young French defender Jean-Clair Todibo as a good option for Erik ten Hag as he plans to sign a centre-back in 2024.
The Reds have been plagued with a number of injury problems in defence this season. Lisandro Martinez Martinez and Raphael Varane have both suffered injuries and Ten Hag’s full-back departments were depleted not long ago too.
Injury problems went from bad to worse last night when Andre Onana and Marcus Rashford were forced off with knocks in international matches.
However, in defence, we’ve seen Harry Maguire return to his best alongside 35-year-old Jonny Evans. It is clear that one of the areas Ten Hag will look to strengthen is centre-back.
Transfer guru Fabrizio Romano previously reported that United were keeping an eye on four different defenders ahead of a 2024 transfer. One of the names put forward was Nice centre-back Todibo.
Saha believes the 23-year-old could fit into Ten Hag’s system, although he is right-footed and can play on the left side of defence too. His versatility would be a huge plus for the current United team.
Todibo already has one cap for his country, too, but Saha suggests he is unlucky due to the pool of talented players available to France manager Didier Deschamps.
When asked about the potential United target, Saha told BetFred Insights: “He’s a very good defender. He’s very unlucky because currently there’s a golden generation of French defenders and that’s why he doesn’t have many caps for the national team.
“He’s very good on the ball, he’s calm and he would very much suit Manchester United’s style of play.”
When asked about Maguire and Victor Lindelof’s performances this season, Saha added: “There’s a need in this Manchester United team for goals to come from their defence and that’s why I was so happy to see Victor Lindelöf score against Luton on Saturday and to see Harry Maguire scoring in the Champions League against Copenhagen.
“The ten outfield players all have to be dangerous and capable of scoring goals and at this moment, Manchester United’s defenders are scoring more than their forwards.”
It should be easy to negotiate a deal for Todibo if Ten Hag really wants him when Sir Jim Ratcliffe becomes minority shareholder. The British billionaire also owns Nice and they might even become a sister club in the years to follow.
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