da gbg bet： Tottenham Hotspur have put the recent slump behind them and have picked up successive victories in the Premier League, with Ange Postecoglou's side just one point behind fourth-placed champions Manchester City after 17 matches.
da brwin： The Australian manager will largely be happy with his side's progress since his summer appointment, having taken charge of a beleaguered outfit that had finished eighth and had lost club record scorer Harry Kane in August, just before the start of the season.
Having blitzed into form across the opening months and picked up the first three Premier League Manager of the Month awards, Postecoglou urged his supporters to "continue to dream", as chatter around a claim for the title turned into something of a crescendo.
Perhaps that was premature, but then again perhaps if injuries to influential summer signings James Maddison and Micky van de Ven had been avoided the recent issues would never have ravaged the revival; such setbacks have illuminated the importance of strengthening in 2024.
Tottenham transfer targets – Jean-Clair Todibo
According to a recent report from football.london, Tottenham have opened discussions with OGC Nice over the transfer of central defender Jean-Clair Todibo, with Postecoglou desperate to bolster his backline.
Van de Ven and Cristian Romero form a formidable defensive axis, but with Van de Ven sidelined and the latter's discipline leaving much to be desired, depth is paramount.
Liverpool, Manchester United and Newcastle United have all registered an interest in the 23-year-old across recent months, though Les Aiglons have placed a £39m transfer fee on his head and it remains to be seen whether Spurs or other suitors will ough up such a sum.
Jean-Clair Todibo's style of play
Todibo signed for Nice on a permanent deal from Barcelona in June 2021 after impressing on loan during the second half of the 2020/21 campaign.
An imposing presence in the central defence has led talent scout Jacek Kulig to describe him as "solid as a rock", and having now amassed 117 appearances for his Ligue 1 side, the 6 foot 3 titan has established himself as one of the division's most exciting defenders.
The £19k-per-week ace has been integral to Francesco Farioli's side's efforts in the French top-flight, currently second in the table after 16 matches and boasting the best defensive record with just nine goals conceded; they are five points behind imperious table-toppers Paris Saint-Germain.
Todibo has started 14 of such league fixtures and has masterfully married his desire to influence attacks with a sturdy and potent defensive effort, completing 91% of his passes and winning 59% of his duels while also making a staggering 7.9 ball recoveries per game, winning 71% of his attempted dribbles.
Such skills are exactly what Postecoglou will be searching for to improve his backline, with the Australian favouring fluency in possession and swift effectiveness in deep build-ups, with the defenders contributing to the offensive advances.
For example, Van de Ven has been dubbed a "Cruyffian defender — risk-taking, incredibly quick — with huge potential” by former Ajax talent advisor Ruben Jongkind, while Romero has established himself as a destructive and aggressive player, adept at breaking up play and distributing forward.
As per FBref, Todibo ranks among the top 6% of centre-backs across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for successful take-ons and tackles and the top 17% for pass completion and progressive passes, underscoring his ball-playing excellence and robustness at the heart of the Nice defence.
As is clear, Todibo offers skills to slot right into the system at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium, and while he is of a similar style to Romero, his likeness to Manchester United's Lisandro Martinez could hand Postecoglou the final piece to complete his defensive puzzle.
How Jean-Clair Todibo compares to Lisandro Martinez
Man United signed Martinez, aged 25, from Ajax for £57m in July 2022, with the dynamic Argentina international's left-footedness and excellent passing ability attracting further attention from Arsenal, who failed to match the Red Devils' offer.
While Martinez has spent the majority of the current campaign out injured, last featuring in September, he had been crucial as Erik ten Hag restored the Red Devils' Champions League status and ended a trophy drought with a triumph in the Carabao Cup.
Playing 27 times in the Premier League last season, the £120k-per-week star completed 87% of his passes, won 65% of his ground duels and incredibly completed 100% of his dribbles, averaging one foray forward every two matches.
Shoring up the defence and instilling a new sense of passing prowess, Martinez was instrumental in the resurgence, and while he didn't start the 2023/24 season very well, it's plausible that United would have avoided their recent decline had he assumed an unwavering role in the rearguard.
#
Player
Club
1
Lisandro Martinez
Manchester United
2
Dante
OGC Nice
3
Igor
Brighton & Hove Albion
4
Cristian Romero
Tottenham Hotspur
5
Danilo Pereira
Paris Saint-Germain
*Sourced via FBref
The World Cup-winning defender ranks among the top 3% of positional peers across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for successful take-ons, the top 5% for tackles and the top 4% for blocks per 90, underscoring the tenacity and ferociousness that has led teammate Luke Shaw to dub him an "absolute monster" for his style.
Hailed for his "complete" ability by Kulig, Todibo is a player of a similar style and given that this mirrors the game of Romero, it's hardly bold to claim that the Les Aiglons phenom might offer the perfect game to improve and fortify Postecoglou's Tottenham project.
As previously mentioned, Romero and Van de Ven are among the finest partnerships in Europe, but dig a little deeper and the likes of Eric Dier, Ben Davies and Emerson Royal are the senior replacements in central defence.
This simply isn't good enough and will hinder Spurs further in their pursuit of a place at the forefront of the Premier League table if it is not fixed.
Tottenham's hitherto place in the depths of midtable mediocrity has been refashioned into something exciting; with Postecoglou at the helm, there is a growing belief that an illustrious period could lie ahead.
But deepening the depth is imperative and the acquisitions must be impactful and suitable for the system. Todibo fits the bill and must be signed.