Jean-Clair Todibo has revealed why he turned down the chance to join Manchester United over the summer and stay at Nice instead.
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The defender was heavily linked with a £34million move to United back in August, with the centre-back lined up to replace Harry Maguire who looked set to leave Old Trafford.
However, Maguire failed to agree terms with West Ham after they had a £30m bid for the England star accepted, and he ended up sticking with the Red Devils.
This partly lead to Todibo’s transfer collapsing, but it’s since been revealed that the Frenchman wasn’t keen on making the switch the Premier League anyway.
The 23-year-old has now opened up on why he decided against leaving Nice this summer, claiming he was not sold on United’s project and that Erik ten Hag’s side did not do enough to persuade him otherwise.
‘It’s very clear the club [Nice] would not have sold me this summer,’ Todibo, who has a contract until 2027, told L’Equipe.
‘I have given it [the links to United] in-depth thought and I remained calm. I didn’t want to make the wrong choice.
‘I expect to be presented with the full picture. What are you expecting from me? Why am I signing? You shouldn’t arrive at a club asking yourself this.
‘I know what I have in Nice, so why leave? Everything must be clear.’
Todibo recently made his France debut and hopes to be part of Les Bleus squad at next summer’s Euro 2024, and he admitted that he wondered whether making a move to ‘top-club’ United would help his chances.
‘I’m not going to lie and say that I didn’t have the thought to tell myself that perhaps I should play in a “top club” to increase my chances [of playing for France], but there are also guarantees when playing at Nice,’ he added.
‘It was an immense joy to wear the blue jersey for the first time, to sing the Marseillaise. I have always said that wearing the French team kit was the Holy Grail for me, so there was a lot of pride and emotion.’
Nice are currently second in Ligue 1 and unbeaten after five games, while United have suffered three defeats in their first five games, most recently at home to Brighton, and are now 13th in the Premier League.
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