Jean-Clair Todibo made a return to West Ham’s starting XI in Saturday’s 1-0 win over Arsenal at the Emirates.
It was the France international’s first appearance for the Hammers since a 4-1 loss to Manchester City at the Etihad on 4 January.
Todibo impressed on his return, being an integral part of an impressive backline which kept a clean sheet against a team that has scored 51 goals this season.
The 25-year-old wasn’t dribbled past in the game, and his composure on the ball was impressive, completing 26 of his 30 attempted passes and having 38 touches of the ball.
Todibo played just 62 minutes, but it was like a breath of fresh air seeing him back in the team given his natural ability, which has perhaps been lacking at times this season due to lack of confidence.
It will be interesting to see whether we see a new and improved Todibo under Graham Potter, particularly with the Frenchman having a well-documented ‘bust-up’ with Julen Lopetegui in West Ham’s 5-2 defeat to Arsenal back in November.
This was Todibo’s first game under the new coach, and we saw a performance from the centre-back that felt like it complimented the style of football Potter is trying to encourage his side to play.
Should the Frenchman maintain fitness this season, it’s hard to see how he won’t become a regular under the manager, with the only other consistent centre-back available to him being Max Kilman as a result of Konstantinos Mavropanos’ disappointing performances of late.
West Ham’s hopes to make Todibo deal permanent
Todibo is on loan from Nice, and there is an option to buy the defender for £35 million this summer, which West Ham will be desperate to do should he have a strong end to the season.
The former Barcelona man won over many West Ham fans in December with a comment on social media replying to a Hammers fan’s asking the defender to stay, in which Todibo responded with ‘I’m not gonna leave big man West ham are massive !! don’t believe the media.’
In this day and age, you can’t read into too many throwaway comments like these, but it’s certainly nice to see a player expressing their desire to play for a club, which will make Hammers fans even more hopeful they can secure a permanent deal for the defender this summer.
