Last month, the Hammers were close to signing the 24-year-old player, but negotiations came to a halt as he hoped for a transfer to Juventus. However, as the Italian team failed to come to an agreement, Julen Lopetegui’s team successfully persuaded Todibo to make the move to England after recent discussions.
Todibo is set to fly to London today for a medical examination and to finalize the terms of the deal. The agreement includes a season-long loan with an option to buy for £35 million. Although Juventus is still interested in Todibo, time is running out for them to make a deal.
Earlier this summer, Manchester United considered signing Todibo, but an agreement was reached between the two clubs not to transfer players to each other in order to maintain eligibility for the same UEFA competition. Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s INEOS group has stakes in both teams.
Ratcliffe expressed his frustration in an interview with Bloomberg, stating that it was unfair that Todibo could not be sold to Manchester United, despite being allowed to be sold to another Premier League club. Meanwhile, it was reported by talkSPORT’s Alex Crook that Newcastle United had discussions with Todibo following the appointment of Paul Mitchell as sporting director, but ultimately a transfer did not materialize.
Newcastle had shown interest in Todibo the previous summer when scouts watched him play in friendlies for Nice against Villarreal and Fiorentina at St James’ Park. Eddie Howe’s team is currently in negotiations with Crystal Palace for Marc Guehi as they search for a new center-back.
