West Ham vs Liverpool & Todibo: Premier League Focus

Let’s go back a few months in the past. On September 12, 2023, Jean-Clair Todibo celebrated his first selection with the greats of the France team, starting against Germany (2-1). A fair reward for the young defender of OGC Nice in a competitive sector in Blues. Two years later, the West Ham defender feels hot and cold in a Premier League which was supposed to take him to a new level.

His last outing was an accomplished match against Bournemouth (2-2) last weekend, which the 25-year-old Frenchman finished with 3 tackles, 2 interceptions, 5 clearances and an assist from a clever header. Enough to continue for his 5th consecutive start with the Hammers. Already at the beginning of the month, against Newcastle (3-1), the native of Cayenne had finished the game with honors, and 3 tackles for 10 clearances on his clock.

Better for several weeks, the presence of Jean-Clair Todibo coincides with a return to form for the London club, which has not lost in 3 matches. Enough to relieve everyone after a catastrophic start to the season which placed him in 17th place in the ranking. A dark series which cost the head of Graham Potter, who arrived in January 2024 and left last September with 6 victories in 25 matches in his pocket.

A breath of fresh air for Todibo? The defender who passed through TFC did not have the best relations with the English coach, who had dismissed him during the visit to Tottenham on September 13. The Guyanese then went 5 games without a single minute of play, justified according to The Athletic by a mixture of lack of investment and punctuality in training.

In the 2nd worst defense in PL

Not a hothead either, Jean-Clair Todibo had already animated the British press in December 2024, during a match lost against Arsenal (5-2) where an argument broke out between the coach at the time Julen Lotepegui and the Frenchman. Not enough to improve the reputation of a player whose departure from Nice the previous summer had resembled a station of the cross, and who had stood out during a minute of silence during one of his first trips with the Blues to Amsterdam in October 2023.

Also taking advantage of the injury of the Greek Konstantinos Mavropanos, the player revealed early and who has never hidden his ambitions, has regained a lot of confidence in recent weeks. In a system with 3 or 4 behind depending on Santo’s choices, Todibo is trying to find his feet. But the challenge is not simple, for him and his sidekick Maximilian Kilman (not a benchmark for consistency), to the point that the Hammers represent the 2nd worst defense in the Premier League (25 goals conceded).

The time when the Niçois was scrutinized by European greats, like Juventus, seems distant. “He has consistency, performances at a very good level. He has gained confidence with a defender profile, whether in the duel, the speed, his ease”said Deschamps in 2023. In two years, the 25-year-old has no longer found Clairefontaine, and the suitcases for America will be packed, most certainly, without Jean-Clair Todibo.