# 'Tottenham talks break down' center back heads to 'London rivals' Chelsea

Tottenham Hotspur's missed center back Jean-Claude Todibo (25, Nice) is in talks with Chelsea.

"Chelsea have opened contract talks with Premier League rivals Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United target Jean-Claude Todibo," according to a report by Get Football.

Tottenham were the first to express interest in the former FC Barcelona and OGC Nice defender. Todibo is a 6-foot-4, quick-footed defender who can cover at the back and mark forwards one-on-one.

The Spurs want him for a reason. Tottenham started the 2023-2024 season with three center backs. Eric Dier, Christian Romero, and Mickey van der Vaart. However, van der Vaart went down with an injury in the last game against Chelsea, Romero has struggled for consistency due to frequent cautions and sending offs, and he was also injured in the last game against Everton.

Tottenham manager Enzi Postecoglou has started Ben Davies at center back. Spurs have a total of four center backs, including Davies, but two are out injured. Postecoglou has completely ignored Dier, leaving Davies as the only available center back.

In fact, Postecoglou used flanker Emerson Royal as Davies' partner in the last match against Brighton & Hove Albion and the subsequent match against Bournemouth instead of Dyer.

Postecoglou added: "Obviously, it helps if we can finalize the transfer process quickly. Not only because we recently lost Romero, but we have a month to do it and there is no reason to waste it."

"If we can bring players to the club early, even if they don't play, they can train and adapt to our style of soccer. We don't just sign someone and put them on the pitch straight away."

Tottenham's chances of landing Todibo, however, appear to be slim. According to Fabrizio Romano, a journalist familiar with the European transfer market, "The signing of Todibo has virtually fallen through. Todibo was Tottenham's main target in the January transfer window. Tottenham wanted to sign him quickly and had been in difficult negotiations with Nice."

Todibo is a key defender for Nice, who are currently second in Ligue 1, having started 14 of their 17 league games in the 2023-2024 season, so it's not like they can afford to let him go.

In response, Tottenham have identified Genoa CFC's 2002-born defender Rad Dragusin as their main target.

"Todibo had already attracted interest from Tottenham, but Spurs wanted to finalize the [안전놀이터](https://www.sportstoto.link) deal quickly and Nice wanted to take their time, which led to the breakdown of talks between the two clubs," the outlet said.

"Chelsea, still unhappy with their defense despite recent significant investment, have opened talks with Nice. United are still interested in Todibo, but it was Chelsea who initiated the talks."