Manchester United brought in two new centre backs over the summer but not the one Sir Jimin Ratcliffe wanted.
Ineos backed Erik ten Hag with two new defensive additions over the summer.
Manchester United have invested in so many defenders over the years in an attempt to tighten up at the back.
The latest additions were Matthijs de Ligt and Leny Yoro, arriving from Bayern Munich and Lille respectively.
United paid nearly £100million for De Ligt and Yoro combined and both should have big roles to play under Ruben Amorim.
More defenders may come in this summer though with Jonny Evans and Victor Lindelof expected to move on.
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Former Manchester United target could make swift Premier League exit
United will therefore be attentive to the centre back market, even if the plan isn’t to spend as much as last summer.
One man United were interested in signing last summer was Jean-Clair Todibo.
The Frenchman had previously been a wonderkid at Toulouse but struggled with Barcelona.
After finding his form at Nice, Todibo was a man in demand last summer.
Todibo fancied a move to United and with United in the market for a new centre back, speculation was rife that he would be joining.
United didn’t end up signing Todibo though and watched him join Premier League rivals West Ham United instead.
Todibo has only started eight Premier League games for the Hammers though and he may end up leaving England rather quickly.
Sky Italia’s Gianluca Di Marzio reports that Juventus have now started talks over a move to sign Todibo.
It’s claimed that boss Thiago Motta has spoken directly to Todibo and a loan with option to buy is now in the pipeline.
West Ham seemingly haven’t been convinced by Todibo and may already be willing to let him go.
On that basis, perhaps United had a fortunate escape in not signing Todibo after all.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe was furious with Jean-Clair Todibo situation
United held an interest in Todibo but were effectively blocked from striking a deal.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s involvement at United means that Ineos-owned Nice are now considered to be somewhat attached to United.
UEFA are trying to clamp down on transfers inside such groups and Todibo was swiftly ruled out as a possible signing.
Ratcliffe was left furious on Todibo’s situation, suggesting that UEFA had explicitly told Nice they couldn’t sell the defender United.
Ratcliffe felt that the ruling was ‘not fair’ and ultimately restricting Todibo’s career.
“They’ve said we can sell him to another Premiership club, but we can’t sell to Manchester United,” said Ratcliffe.
“But that’s not fair on the player and I don’t see what that achieves,” he added.
Fast forward a few months and Todibo could be on the move again having failed to prove himself as a Premier League defender.
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