Jean-Clair Todibo is a Premier League target

It was at this time that Todibo, who grew up in the Paris suburb of Seine-Saint-Denis – born in Cayenne, the capital of French Guiana – began to stand out. “It wasn’t like the Parisian dream, you know! But it was good for me and I enjoyed it a lot. There are a lot of football players from this area,” he says.

Among them are Moussa Diaby – now at Aston Villa – and Youssouf Fofana of Monaco. “There are a lot of memories. When we first got together with the French national team, we talked about it. It was cool,” adds Todibo.

At that age – and despite having no experience of academy football – he had a week-long trial at Manchester United and before that one at Nottingham Forest. “It was a good experience,” he says. “I got a little taste of what the professional world is like.” His most important memory is his time at United in February 2016, when Marcus Rashford made his Europa League debut and caused a sensation.

Instead, Todibo moved to Toulouse. He made his first-team debut at 18. Within a year, he was signed by Barcelona – after playing just 876 minutes in the first team. “I was really young, but it was like a dream come true,” he says. In terms of his football, he was ready to play. But it was a big step. “Outside of football, I wasn’t prepared for what it was like to be at this kind of club; this kind of big club. I think I was a bit too young. I had entered the professional world a bit late. At 16, I was still in my ‘ghetto’. It was a big gap for me and it happened very quickly,” says Todibo.

Unsurprisingly, he struggled to get playing time – compared to more experienced defenders such as Gerard Pique, Samuel Umtiti and Clement Lenglet – but he was brave enough to go on loan to Schalke 04 in Germany, then Benfica in Portugal and finally Nice. That meant that by the age of 24, he had played in four major European leagues.

“It’s been good for me because I’ve experienced different cultures and worked with different coaches. I think I have more weapons now. I’m more prepared for big things. I think I’m more mentally prepared to be at a big club and it’s definitely made me a better player,” he says.

“Todibo is a real defender”

Julien Sable, Nice’s assistant coach and something of a mentor to Todibo, certainly has no doubts about his ability. “His most important quality is that he is a top athlete who combines strength and speed. He moves so gracefully that it looks as if he is flying at top speed,” says the former St. Etienne midfielder.

“He also has very good technique, especially under pressure. He has made great progress in ball distribution… JC is a real defender: he hates being outplayed, loves one-on-one situations and tackles. He likes to take on the best strikers, that motivates him.”

Todibo’s mention of a “big club” brings attention back to his future. He is naturally reticent to talk about it publicly, but his motivation for joining Nice, first on loan and then permanently, was clearly to “get some minutes and play football” and get his promising career back on track, which he has done.

“Honestly, I don’t want to talk about (my future) because I have respect for the fans here and the club. But we definitely had a little discussion,” he says when asked about United and Tottenham.

Does what happened to him in the past mean he needs to be more cautious about another big move? “I don’t think that’s the reason. The reason was that I was 18 when I went to Barcelona. Now I’m 24, married and have two children,” he argues. “My mindset is different. I’m an international player. I need to think a bit more. The life I want to lead means I’m much more thoughtful about what I do.”

Nevertheless, he has closely followed the influence of his friend and former teammate at Nice, where he was on loan, William Saliba, since establishing himself at Arsenal.

“I played against him when we were young. He played for St-Etienne, I played for Toulouse. Then we played together in Nice for six months and now we play together in the French national team,” says Todibo, adding that he tried to persuade Saliba to stay in Nice longer.

“Of course I wanted him to stay for another year. But he is playing very well at Arsenal. Last season was fantastic for him,” he says.