Anfield Watch
·17 April 2024
Anfield Watch
·17 April 2024
Liverpool will have a series of transfer targets this summer but one of them isn’t new. The Reds will try to grab a player who rejected them five years ago.
There's plenty of talk right now that Liverpool are in the market for a centre-back - and why wouldn't they be? It makes complete sense, with Joel Matip also certainly leaving with the end of his contract this summer.
On top of that, the Reds are heavily linked with Ruben Amorim. The Sporting CP manager plays with three centre-backs, increasing demand in the position, should he take over.
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At the very least, then, Liverpool will have eyes on centre-backs. One of those they've been linked with is Jean-Clair Todibo of OGC Nice.
The defender is supposedly available for around £40m after a stellar few seasons back in France. And as we've written before, he could be exactly what Liverpool are looking for.
But he was also what they were looking for five years ago.
Todibo was one of the highest-profile young defenders in Europe back in 2019. He'd eventually join Barcelona but struggled to find his feet in Catalonia.
But Liverpool were among the clubs trying to grab him. That's according to his agent, Bruno Satin.
“[Then-Napoli sporting director] Cristiano Giuntoli asked me [about Todibo], but there were Liverpool, Juventus and Leverkusen, but then the boy wanted Barcelona and we chose to accommodate him,” Satin told Radio Kiss Kiss Napoli via TuttomercatoWeb.
Todibo made a mistake in going to Barcelona, of course, but has since shown the hype in him was on point. Now he faces another big decision in his career - does he move to another 'elite' club?
Liverpool may be among those offering him that chance, especially if his price tag truly is £40m. They liked what he had about him in 2019, after all, and he's only gone on to prove the Reds were correct to do so.
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