It was more about what West Ham didn’t say when they officially confirmed Jean-Clair Todibo’s £32m move had been made permanent and now the man himself has spoken.
As far as debut seasons after a big money move go, Jean-Clair Todibo at West Ham was as underwhelming as they come.
Excitement was palpable when Tim Steidten jetted to Nice to persuade Todibo to join the Hammers last summer.
It came somewhat out of the blue after weeks of speculation that he only wanted to join Juventus.
West Ham’s underwhelming Todibo announcement
When the Frenchman arrived on loan with an obligation to buy, it was seen as the jewel in the crown of West Ham “winning the transfer window”.
Fast forward a year and the Hammers could barely muster any enthusiasm when confirming Todibo’s move has been made permanent.
West Ham’s confirmation of the permanent £32m move lacked the kind of enthusiasm – or any positive vocabulary – you would normally associate with such announcements.
Even if it was merely a formality.
There was no ‘delighted to announce’ or bigging the player up.
Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images
Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images
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Instead the Hammers played everything with a straight bat, even bemoaning the defender’s injury record as they bundled Todibo’s announcement in with confirmation that Carlos Soler and Evan Ferguson are departing.
And it comes amid frequent speculation he could be sold on the moment his deal was made permanent.
Now Todibo has a message for West Ham fans after his lukewarm announcement.
The obligation clause in Todibo’s contract was triggered after he made five Premier League starts – as long as the Hammers avoided relegation.
Cynics would say if it had been based on completing five matches then Todibo would have struggled to activate the deal, so rarely did he complete 90 minutes – being subbed off nearly every game he started.
Todibo’s message for West Ham fans after lukewarm confirmation
The club’s majority owner David Sullivan was criticised by some fans for saying the Todibo deal has “hurt” West Ham back in January.
The underwhelming tone of the announcement feels like it echoes that sentiment in many ways.
Top West Ham insider Sean Whetstone, who counts co-owner Sullivan as one of his close contacts, recently claimed there are concerns over Todibo’s inability to last 90 minutes.
Whetstone also reported West Ham are open to performing a ‘quick flip’ sale of Todibo this summer the moment his permanent move from Nice was activated.
West Ham legend Tony Gale labelled Todibo ‘lazy’ after his performance in the season-ending win at Ipswich.
Since then it has emerged Newcastle boss Eddie Howe snubbed a move for Todibo over concerns about his attitude and character having done ‘background checks’.
Photo by Sebastian Frej/MB Media/Getty Images
Photo by Sebastian Frej/MB Media/Getty Images
That was interesting given the context that Todibo went on to have a major bust-up with Julen Lopetegui which saw him banished from first team training and the squad for a short spell.
West Ham have not categorically ruled out selling Todibo – saying ‘there have been no offers’.
Hammers fans are deeply concerned about next season.
The Premier League is expected to be more competitive than it has been in years and PSR means West Ham have to sell in order to be able to buy.
Mohammed Kudus and several others will be leaving and the jury is still very much out on manager Graham Potter.
The Athletic have run a new feature on Todibo stating he is ‘here to stay’.
If a half decent offer comes West Ham’s way that is far from a certainty.
Todibo ‘here to stay’ and says ‘Rome wasn’t built in a day’
The piece highlighted stats which show Todibo is good on the floor but terrible in the air. And the big concern is that you can’t be a top Premier League centre-back unless you excel at the latter.
The article then ends with some words from the defender, who believes the club will see what he and Potter are all about next season.
“In France, we say ‘Rome ne s’est pas faite en un jour’, which is like the saying ‘Rome wasn’t built in one day’, because it takes time,” Todibo said.
“The manager (Potter) came and the situation was difficult, and we need to build something. We just need more time with this manager, because when you have the positives in the game, the result is going to come.
“There is no rush. You don’t have to rush. I think if you want to be smart and productive, you should work for it. It’s more like this and we prepare for the next season — because next season has to be big.”
Next season does have to be big. But West Ham’s summer transfer window has to be even bigger.