Newcastle now look to hijack Juventus' deal for 'incredible' defender despite terms being agreed
Newcastle United have been no strangers to having incoming transfers fall apart as the player opts for another club, but now they're looking to do a bit of that themselves.
The saga surrounding OGC Nice centre-back Jean-Clair Todibo could be about to take a third twist in as many days.
It was first revealed on Wednesday that West Ham and Nice had agreed a loan with an obligation to buy deal for 24-year-old Todibo which would have seen the Hammers cough up €40million (£33.6million) at the end of the loan period.
However, it then came out on Thursday that Todibo had agreed personal terms with Juventus and was holding out for a move to Italy.
Newcastle have held talks with Jean-Clair Todibo's representatives
On Friday morning, HITC have now claimed that Newcastle's sporting director Paul Mitchell has held talks with Jean Clair-Todibo's representatives during the past week and could be set to try and beat out West Ham and Juventus to the signing of Frenchman who former Nice coach Francesco Farioli hailed as having 'incredible potential'
Juventus have yet to agree a deal with Nice, who will be expecting them to at least match the one already on the table from West Ham, however, it's believed that the Italian side may struggle to do so.
It now remains to be seen if Newcastle, who can match West Ham's offer, can persuade Todibo to head to the Toon rather than Juventus.
Is there room in the squad for Jean-Clair Todibo and Malick Thiaw?
What will also be interesting to see is how this deal, should it come off, affects the one being worked on for Malick Thiaw.
Both are young centre-backs with bags of potential and would both be worth having on the books, but is there currently room for both? Especially when Sven Botman returns from injury at the end of the year.
Personally, I hope we go for both of them and Eddie Howe can find a way to rotate them, but it will also mean we have plenty of cover in the event of another injury-hit season.
