West Ham can't let Jean-Clair Todibo go this summer | OneFootball

Although Konstantinos Mavropanos has been a massive disappointment this season, West Ham have two true building blocks for a back three under Graham Potter, as 2024 summer transfers Max Kilman and Jean-Clair Todibo have established themselves as among the best center backs in the Premier League this season.

Kilman was already on the up-and-up with Wolves last season, and Todibo was entrenched as a top player in French football with Nice. This season at West Ham, the two starters have been among the only reasons for hope at the London Stadium, with Kilman, in particular, shining brightly as one of the team's two best players alongside forward Jarrod Bowen.

But Todibo deserves significant praise, too. At the end of the season, West Ham have an obligation to make the Nice loanee's move a permanent one for 40 million euros, and that is quite the hefty fee for a center back.

Jean-Clair Todibo is worth more to West Ham than he is to the market

According to a report from The Athletic's Roshane Thomas, Marseille showed interest in bringing Todibo back to Ligue 1 this January, but West Ham were not interested in selling. Furthermore, the 25-year-old French international told the Hammers and his agent that he is happy at the club and has no interest in leaving the London Stadium this year.

There's a school of thought that West Ham could activate Todibo's purchase clause this summer and then try to sell Todibo for a profit, but that's a far-fetched plan. Todibo is worth 28 million euros in Transfermarkt's eyes, and while their opinion is obviously more flawed than ironclad, it is a decent approximation of how clubs may view Todibo's value.

Basically, West Ham aren't going to make any sort of a profit from selling Todibo, and even if they did, it would be only a few million euros, if that, to some Saudi Arabia club, and then West Ham would be back at square one with an even bigger need at the center back position (they would already need to find a replacement for Mavropanos).

Todibo is happy at West Ham, and so West Ham should be happy with him. A productive, 25-year-old center back in the prime of his career with good athleticism, borderline elite ball-playing skills for the Premier League, and a solid footballing IQ is worth its weight in gold, especially to a side like West Ham that's had serious issues with transfer recruitment.

Selling Todibo would cause more headaches than the money would bring, and, of course, logistically, there's no way West Ham would sell since they'd have to be brainless to take a loss on a player they just bought. Todibo has the ability to be close to a world-class center back, and under better management next season, I'd back on him being more valuable at this time next year than he is now.