Arsenal handed transfer boost after West Ham's Todibo hijack

Cameron Smith

Updated: 12 Aug 2024 07:31 BST
3 min read

Jean-Clair Todibo’s summer move to West Ham United is set to help Arsenal offload one of their unwanted stars.

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Todibo, 24, has joined West Ham on a season-long loan deal from OGC Nice, although the east London club have the option to make the move permanent for €40 million next summer.

The Frenchman was previously wanted by Manchester United, but the Red Devils were prevented from signing him due to the fact Sir Jim Ratcliffe also owns Nice.

As a result, Man Utd signed Leny Yoro from Lille instead, and they are on the verge of completing a deal for Bayern Munich star Matthijs de Ligt.

Juventus were also interested in signing Todibo this summer, and the Serie A giants were extremely close to finalising a move for the 24-year-old.

However, West Ham hijacked the move and sealed an agreement to land the Nice centre-back.

How Jean-Clair Todibo to West Ham has helped Arsenal

Todiob’s move to West Ham is set to inadvertently help Arsenal.

With Juventus failing in their pursuit of the Frenchman, they have now turned their attention to Jakub Kiwior, according to Calciomercato, as they pursue a new central defender.

© IMAGO - Jakub Kiwior could leave Arsenal this summer

The Poland international is now one of Juventus’ key summer targets, along with Ajax’s Josip Sutalo and Barcelona’s Clement Lenglet.

Kiwior has spent the past 18 months at Arsenal and despite playing a fairly prominent role during the second half of last season, he has fallen down the pecking order this summer.

Riccardo Calafiori is expected to be Mikel Arteta’s first-choice left-back following his move from Bologna, while Jurrien Timber is now back to full fitness, Oleksandr Zinchenko has featured heavily in pre-season, and Takehiro Tomiyasu remains at the club.

As a result, several reports have suggested that Arsenal could look to sell Kiwior and with Juventus now interested, they have been handed the perfect opportunity to offload the 24-year-old.