25
Jean-Clair
Todibo
Defender
  • In on loan
Jean-Clair Todibo
Shoots
Right
Signed
10/08/2024
Height
190 cm
Born
30/12/1999
Debut
17/08/2024
Debut Fixture
West Ham United vs Aston Villa (Sat, 17/08/2024 - 17:30)
Nationality
France
Weight
88 kg
Alias
JC

France international defender Jean-Clair Todibo joined West Ham United on from Ligue 1 club OGC Nice on an initial season-long loan in August 2024, with an option to make the transfer permanent in summer 2025.

The 6’3 centre-back debuted for Spanish giants Barcelona at the age of 19, and arrived in east London having already made well over 150 senior appearances.

A strong tackler, elite reader of the game and superb distributor of the ball, Todibo helped Nice reach the Coupe de France final in 2022, UEFA Europa Conference League quarter-finals in 2022/23 and achieve two fifth-place finishes in Ligue 1 in the three seasons prior to his switch to London Stadium.

Career

2024/25

Joined West Ham United from French club Nice on 10 August 2024...Made his West Ham United debut as a substitute in a 2-1 home Premier League defeat by Aston Villa on 17 August 2024...Made his full debut for West Ham United in a 1-0 EFL Cup second round win over AFC Bournemouth at London Stadium on 21 August 2024.

Before West Ham

Born in Cayenne, the capital of the French overseas region of French Guiana – the largest French-speaking city on the South American continent - on 30 December 1999...One of six children...Moved to Paris at the age of three, and lived in the suburb of Bagnolet...Father was a coach at nearby Red Star FC, the club set up by Jules Rimet, the founder of the FIFA World Cup, and he played his first football there...Credits his mother for his upbringing...Played at FC Les Lilas, where he faced former Aston Villa forward Moussa Diaby and AS Monaco midfielder Youssouf Fofana as a schoolboy when they were playing for fellow Paris-based junior club Espérance Paris 19ème...Was a keen athlete, wrestler, judoka and footballer as a boy...Suffered a serious leg injury in a car accident at the age of nine and had to stop his activities for a period...Returned to football at an Academy run by former Liverpool and France midfielder Bernard Diomède...Departed FC Les Lilas at age 16 and moved south to join Toulouse FC's Academy...Debuted for Toulouse in France’s Ligue 1 at the age of 18 in August 2018...Attracted attention from some of Europe’s top clubs and was signed by Spanish giants FC Barcelona in January 2019, a month after turning 19...Played five times for Barcelona over the next 12 months, but competition for places from the likes of Gerard Piqué, Samuel Umtiti and Clement Lenglet saw him depart on loan, first to German club Schalke 04 in January 2020, then Portuguese side Benfica in October of the same year...Made 27 club appearances for four clubs in four different countries, then returned to France to join OGC Nice on an initial loan deal on 1 February 2021, a month past his 21st birthday, before signing permanent terms that summer...Was a regular starter for OGC Nice, playing 138 matches across three-and-a-half seasons, scoring two goals, reaching the Coupe de France final in 2022 and helping the club achieve two fifth-place finishes in Ligue 1...Capped nine times by France at U20 level...Made his senior France debut in a 2-1 friendly loss to Germany on 12 September 2023, following the likes of Loïc Remy and Hatem Ben Arfa in becoming Nice players capped by Les Bleus...Won his second France cap and made his competitive debut for his country two months later in France's record 14-0 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying win over Gibraltar on 18 November 2023.