West Ham fend off Manchester United and Chelsea to sign highly-coveted French defender

As previously reported by NationalWorld, West Ham are keen to secure the services of highly-coveted French defender Jean-Clair Todibo, and have been negotiating with Ligue 1 side Nice throughout the summer. Now, it appears the clubs have come to an agreement and Todibo will join the Hammers imminently.

Subject to a medical - which Todibo is travelling to London for today - the centre-back will sign for West Ham on loan for the season, with an option for manager Julen Lopetegui to buy him at the end of the season.

It comes amid a flurry of signings from the Hammers, which has led to many football pundits calling them the “big winners” from this summer’s transfer window. German striker Niclas Füllkrug moved to West Ham earlier this week for an undisclosed fee, and former Wolves defender Maximillian Kilman, who joined for £40m.

Writing for Inside Futbol, Kris Sanyal said: “Todibo declined a move to West Ham earlier in the window after the Hammers reached an agreement with his club side Nice. He was holding out for a move to Juventus but the Serie A giants dragged their feet in the negotiations with Nice and that allowed West Ham to get back into the chase.

“Manchester United wanted to sign him earlier in the window from Nice but UEFA blocked the move due to Ineos having control over both clubs.”