Fulham have opened talks with Barcelona in a bid to sign French centre-back Jean-Clair Todibo this summer.
Todibo joined Barcelona from Toulouse on a free transfer in January 2019, but has since struggled to settle at the Camp Nou. After spending the latter part of last season on loan in the Bundesliga at Schalke, he doesn't seem to be part of Ronald Koeman's new project in Catalonia and could leave the club after making just five appearances.
After Everton, also Fulham have opened talks to sign Jean Clair Todibo from Barcelona on a permanent deal. #EFC just offered loan with buy option but no agreement have been reached yet. It’s up to the player. Barça want to sell him [to sign Eric Garcia].? #FulhamFC https://t.co/5NxHEwUOOP
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) September 25, 2020
Fabrizio Romano reports that the French Under-20 international is one of Fulham's main targets and the club would like to sign him on a permanent deal before the window closes. Barcelona are keen to offload him as they need to raise funds before attempting to re-sign Eric García from Manchester City.
Todibo could partner Sassuolo's Marlon Santos in west London - another who had a disappointing time with Barcelona - and Romano reports that the Brazilian is close to joining the club for a fee in the region of €15m.
Fulham do face competition from Everton for Todibo's signature, however. Carlo Ancelotti's first choice target is Chelsea's Fikayo Tomori but signing him is proving to be very difficult, especially because Frank Lampard wants to keep Tomori and loan out Antonio Rudiger instead.
Everton have therefore turned their attention to Todibo and have tabled a bid of an initial loan with an option to buy for €18m next summer. So far, no agreement has been reached.
Scott Parker is clearly desperate to add much needed defensive reinforcement to his squad, especially after his side conceded seven goals in their opening two Premier League games at the hands of Arsenal and Leeds United. His side will now turn their attention to Aston Villa as they look to finally get their first points of the new season on Monday evening.
Source: 90min
