He took a pay cut to get on the plane
Jean-Clair Todibo is at Bollaert. The centre-back arrived for his medical with Lens on Sunday, and the blood and gold shirt is waiting for him.
It is a straight loan. No option to buy. RMC Sport had it first, Foot Mercato confirmed, and West Ham, now a Championship club, keep him under contract until 2029.
Todibo agreed to give up a slice of his wages to make the numbers work. That detail tells you how badly he wanted out.
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Marseille had the player’s word and nothing else
A verbal agreement was in place. Marseille could not convert it, because they needed to sell before buying and the exits simply have not come.
Bruno Genesio did not hide his irritation in Saturday’s press conference. Zero signings by 29 August. A financial position he called “very precarious”. And a squad where he may have to sell one of his best players at exactly the wrong moment.
Quinten Timber and Igor Paixao are the two deals that could still change the picture before the window shuts on Tuesday. Two days, then the door closes.
A defender who reads the game, for a back line that needed one
This is a Ligue 1 return for Todibo, two years after leaving. Nice banked roughly 16 million euros from West Ham in 2024, and he made 23 league appearances in England last season.
Dino Toppmoller now has a defender who is genuinely comfortable playing out. El Chadaille Bitshiabu of RB Leipzig was the original target, and Foot Mercato suggests that avenue is not fully shut.
The timing helps. Lens lost 2-1 at Strasbourg on Saturday, and the defence looked short of authority all night.
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