Passing in tight spaces is a lot better for Martinez right now, Todibo is better than Varane in that area though and he can hit a useful switch of play.
Jean-Clair Todibo
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I know nothing about this player apart from that he was touted as a wonderkid when Barca got him and he lost his way. It’s an interesting signing if we make it that points towards us going a bit more left field/data/attribute analysis based scouting which is interesting and pleasing to see
I don't think minutes will be the issue given Varane's injury problems plus he can always moonlight at RB where we don't have an undisputed starter. Given that ETH wants either Shaw to invert or Martinez to step up it will be perfect to have him as a RB cum CB to form a back 3 with Shaw/Martinez and Varane.
It also ensures that one half of our right side which is poor in the build up is neutralized, really hope we get this one and Amrabat over the line.
It also ensures that one half of our right side which is poor in the build up is neutralized, really hope we get this one and Amrabat over the line.
I first mentioned Todibo on here when he was still playing for Toulouse as a teenager. He ended up at Barca, and in his own words (tweet below) he let himself down at Barca, but is now a more mature player.
I don't think Varane should be a undisputed starter in a years time. I think there's better suited players who we should target for the way ten Hag wants to play. And Todibo does fit that profile and at 23 years of age I think it's now time for him to once again back his ability to compete with Varane for a place in the first 11.
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Disgree with the "inexperienced, young, will take time to adapt to league" type comments.
He is 23 near 24, just the right age to still progress yet still mature enough in years. He has also had a period at arguably the biggest club in the world, he has spent time at pretty much all the major leagues in Europe excluding the premiership and Serie A.
So on paper he looks a gret fit, also like the look of him in videos...but had never heard of him until a few months ago, dont remember him at Barcelona at all, nor for Schalke or Benfica....and that is where my concerns are.
Barca seemed massively keen on him movign so early, giving him a big shirt number....he didnt last long, on his two loan spells it seems neither Schalke or Benfica fancied him much while he was there, he barely played....both had loan and purchase options and didnt take them up, he also though calle dup hasnt played for France bar less than 10 games at U20 despite success at both clubs in the league.
So you part wonder, is there a reason he hasnt succeeded outside of the French league (but he was still young) or not played for France (well I massively rate Lukeba and he hasnt as of yet, they have a abundance of quality cb's still find it weird Disasi has over them, he is gonna flop at Chelsea).
But for me Lindelof has never consistently been anything other than average and never will be and has lots of weaknesses, so a young signing like this to compete with him as Varanes back up, looks a good signing to me and if Varane misses games like he has frequently so far, especially beign another year older....there are opportunities for him here for sure this coming season
He is 23 near 24, just the right age to still progress yet still mature enough in years. He has also had a period at arguably the biggest club in the world, he has spent time at pretty much all the major leagues in Europe excluding the premiership and Serie A.
So on paper he looks a gret fit, also like the look of him in videos...but had never heard of him until a few months ago, dont remember him at Barcelona at all, nor for Schalke or Benfica....and that is where my concerns are.
Barca seemed massively keen on him movign so early, giving him a big shirt number....he didnt last long, on his two loan spells it seems neither Schalke or Benfica fancied him much while he was there, he barely played....both had loan and purchase options and didnt take them up, he also though calle dup hasnt played for France bar less than 10 games at U20 despite success at both clubs in the league.
So you part wonder, is there a reason he hasnt succeeded outside of the French league (but he was still young) or not played for France (well I massively rate Lukeba and he hasnt as of yet, they have a abundance of quality cb's still find it weird Disasi has over them, he is gonna flop at Chelsea).
But for me Lindelof has never consistently been anything other than average and never will be and has lots of weaknesses, so a young signing like this to compete with him as Varanes back up, looks a good signing to me and if Varane misses games like he has frequently so far, especially beign another year older....there are opportunities for him here for sure this coming season
I believe the player himself has spoken about it himself saying that he was immature and his attitude wasn’t right but has now realised the work rate and effort that is needed at the top level. Still a risk though.
Agree, he is better than Varane under pressure
He looks like Varane with an Afro.
Makes a lot of sense this doesn’t it?
Suits ETH’s philosophy down to a tee, young enough to still improve, has a year to learn from what is probably a role model to him in Varane and pays for itself from the Maguire sale.
Suits ETH’s philosophy down to a tee, young enough to still improve, has a year to learn from what is probably a role model to him in Varane and pays for itself from the Maguire sale.
I think his poor heading ability in combination with Martinez's is a genuine concern and leaves us quite vulnerable from set pieces and aerial attacks. Maguire and Varane are obviously aerial beasts and McTominay is leaving the club so we don't really have any players other than Casemiro in the team that would be considered good in the air in a scenario where Todibo is on the field. That would be my biggest concern with Todibo although he's a great defender on the ground and his passing and carrying ability seems very good.
I haven't really noticed him being weak aerially. But that could be down to me not really focusing on his aerial game.
But there seems to be a consensus among a group of people that he's weak in the air. And I'm assuming it's likely due to how his aerial game is presented on Fbref. And I'm wandering if it's a case of not knowing the difference between volume and percentage. Because the reason I say that is because if you read the article below (5 months old) it provides stats that show him to be strong aerially.
Front the article linked below: "As for aerial duels, the centre-back contests 2.5 per match with a 71.7% win rate. He has given up two fouls inside the box and averages 0.58 fouls per 90 minutes on the pitch."
https://ligue1analysis.com/jean-cla...23-data-stats-analysis-scout-report/analysis/
But I think personally, I'd rather have a CB who is a little bit weaker in the air but is strong at contesting ground duels and also has the ability under pressure to help progress play. Like the vid below demonstrates, he's very strong in 1v1 situations even against the best attackers in the world but he also provides something a little bit extra in possession. And I think at 23 years of age, he's a low risk signing with potential to grow further with good coaching.
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Yeah his supposedly poor aerial ability is why I can't understand why we didn’t push harder for Min-Jae. Then again perhaps we didn't as we are looking for an understudy to take over Rapha rather than automatically replace him in the team
I prefer our scouts do their attribute assessment by watching players as opposed to analysis by looking at data.
Data might be helpful in narrowing the field, reducing legwork, but mostly I don’t like it. Quality and potential are things you see rather than calculate imo.
I don’t think EtH believes in understudies.
In his recent interview he says he wants competition for places in every position (which we simply don’t have at CB). He says every player in the squad must feel he has prospects to play which is music to my ears.
I think if we shell out for a CB (Evans aside), it will be because EtH believes he will provide effective competition and will earn plenty of minutes.
He’s young and highly rated.
So, why are Nice (Jim) willing to sell him for £35m?
So, why are Nice (Jim) willing to sell him for £35m?
Because he isn't that young and isn't that highly rated. Todibo was highly rated early in his career, injuries and slow progress make him less interesting nowadays.
So you would pass on him then
What I meant is Kim would have pretty much benched Varane whereas this guy allows him to play but manage minutes too
Nice didn't get European football and £35million is a fair price for a player of his age, potential, current ability and one that comes with the baggage of having been to a big club before and had to take a step back.
Thats a reasonable price for Ligue 1.
It’s reasonable the quote is in euros.
From what I’ve managed to read online this evening he seems to be really aggressive in the press and ambitious on the ball. Very interesting profile.
Oh yeah, Kim is good. Think it would have been two top CBs pushing each other. And don’t forget Kim can play LCB as well, if anything happened to Martinez. <Sigh>
I gather Todibo’s not at that level yet but I was thinking EtH would expect him to keep Varane on his toes, slot in when Varane is not 100%, etc. That means he has to be a clear notch above Lindelof out of the gate. If he is as good as that, with power to add as he matures, then perhaps he’s just what we need.
Yeah stinging that Kim could have been able to play at LCB too,still haven't seen any videos of Todibo either attacking corners with his head or defending own box
If we can learn anything from our noisy neighbours it’s that you need a pool of defensive options. Todibo at the cost doesn’t have to be Varane’s long term replacement, he can compete this year & for years to come with other options being pursued in future windows.
He immediately raises the standard of our options & would allow EtH to not have to overhaul everything should we have defensive absences, this is what matters.
People really need to remember we are only a year in, EtH has surpassed what others achieved already but that shouldn’t mean every signing is seen as a bigger step than it should be. Maguire out, Todibo in would be great business.
He immediately raises the standard of our options & would allow EtH to not have to overhaul everything should we have defensive absences, this is what matters.
People really need to remember we are only a year in, EtH has surpassed what others achieved already but that shouldn’t mean every signing is seen as a bigger step than it should be. Maguire out, Todibo in would be great business.
These highlights are all from a single game, but he doesnt seem that impressive to me. Anyone more familiar with him can tell me whether he's reliable? And good in the air?
The highlights aren't there to impress you necessarily. It just highlights his ability to defend transitions against fast attackers in 1v1 situations. And that's something that can be very useful for a team that wants to play higher up the pitch in a higher defensive line.
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I see your point. He did seem to be only a yard or two behind Mbappe a few times, but we didn't see the build up so I dont know if thats because he's fast or because they played deep
That is very true but still begs the question about what happens when defending set pieces and corners when Rapha isn't there
I'm not worried about his aerial game mate. The article linked below sheds light on what he brings to a team and provides a statistical analysis on his aerial game which is good according to them. So it depends on whose data you want to believe, but for me I've never watched him and thought he's weak aerially. Plus we also have Onana who will make a difference against the aerial ball.
From the article linked below: "As a centre-back, Todibo’s defensive gameplay is his strongest attribute. From the viz above, we can see that his average position along the defensive line is well within his own half. He has made most of the interceptions within the defensive third and inside his own box, which has been crucial for his team on numerous occasions. The player makes 11.72 recoveries and 5.59 interceptions per match. Furthermore, he contests 6.51 defensive duels with a win rate of 73.7%. As for aerial duels, the centre-back contests 2.5 per match with a 71.7% win rate. He has given up two fouls inside the box and averages 0.58 fouls per 90 minutes on the pitch."
https://ligue1analysis.com/jean-cla...ata-stats-analysis-scout-report/analysis/amp/
We absolutely need a defender who has really good athletic attributes. I love Varane but he is not the same player physically anymore and I feel he plays with that in the back of his mind i.e he doesn't use open his legs as much, goes into 1 vs 1 duels or gets proper touch tight to shut down attackers. He still defends at a high level due to his intelligence, stride, size, experience and aerial prowess but I worry about playing a higher line with him and Martinez at the back. I think he has a limited number of recovery sprints in his per game.
A younger more pacier player that is aggressive and can move across the pitch with regular high intensity sprints would elevate our game intangibly. Of course that's assuming the rest of his game is up to par. With the way we play Mount and Bruno ahead of Casemiro, it seems Martinez is being asked even more of his ball playing ability and venturing further higher up the pitch. That leaves us vulnerable on the counter attack, so a fast covering defender would help massively.
And also because Lindelof is not what we should be striving for as the 3rd option; he's so underwhelmingly thoroughly average across the board
A younger more pacier player that is aggressive and can move across the pitch with regular high intensity sprints would elevate our game intangibly. Of course that's assuming the rest of his game is up to par. With the way we play Mount and Bruno ahead of Casemiro, it seems Martinez is being asked even more of his ball playing ability and venturing further higher up the pitch. That leaves us vulnerable on the counter attack, so a fast covering defender would help massively.
And also because Lindelof is not what we should be striving for as the 3rd option; he's so underwhelmingly thoroughly average across the board
Is there anyone else with similar attributes to Kim that could be a potential future signing? Kim was the one I wanted though
Really don't know but yeah it's hard not to be gutted when the guy had no weaknesses. I blame myself for looking at his percentiles up in the high 80s low 90s for the majority of attributes. Maybe he does still play for us one day but will be costly
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Lacroix possibly. Maybe not on the same level as Kim, but he’s a pretty decent option. Strong, quick, good in the air. Positions himself well too. He’s quite similar to Varane I think which is basically what we’re trying to provide backup for and eventually replace.
Poor aerial ability or regular aerial ability? Even Varane isn’t colossal in the air or anything (but definitely good enough).
Those high potential players that are available for decent fees are exactly who we should target as backup / third CB.
Just watched a highlight compilation from youtube. Have to say his play is quite chaotic. I am not sure if he is a good fit really.
Thank feck you arent a scout.
One foul every two games? That sounds extraordinary!