Jean-Clair Todibo joins Nice on loan from Barcelona

Cameron Smith

• Updated: 19 May 2021 15:43 BST
• 2 min read

Nice have completed the signing of Barcelona defender Jean-Clair Todibo on loan until the end of the season.

Todibo will join fellow young centre-back William Saliba, who signed on loan from Arsenal, at the club in Nice’s bid to plug their defensive issues.

The defender has been on loan at Benfica since October, but a combination of injury issues and a lack of trust from coach Jorge Jesus has limited Todibo to just two appearances all season, and the Portuguese club are happy to let him leave.

Unfortunately, this has been a common theme in Todibo’s short career so far.

Highly rated by Barcelona when they signed him from Toulouse in 2019, Todibo failed to break into the Blaugrana defence and was sent on loan to Schalke for the 2019/20 season.

In Gelsenkirchen, he was plagued by injuries as well, making just eight Bundesliga starts as Schalke narrowly escaped relegation, and the side opted against activating their option to buy in the loan deal.

In terms of his playing style, standing at 6″3, Todibo is an aggressive, physical presence, epitomised by his 2.5 aerial wins and 2.5 successful tackles per 90 during his time at Schalke; both of which are better than any Nice player this season.

Now back in France, Todibo will be aiming to finally string together a series of first-team appearances and display the immense talent that he possesses.

Nice actually have history in dipping into Barcelona’s squad in January, taking Moussa Wague on an 18-month loan deal this time last year, although it was ended after six months.

They’ll be hoping that the move for Todibo will be far more successful, and with the team currently sitting a lowly 12th in Ligue 1, after finishing fifth last year, Nice will be hoping that Todibo can stay fit to help guide them back up the table.