Manchester United have long held an interest in bringing Jean-Clair Todibo to Old Trafford and now Ineos are taking serious steps.
Signing a central defender is of the utmost importance for Manchester United this summer, however, it’s proving a tricky task to do just that.
Top target Jarrad Branthwaite is proving expensive and has Everton unwilling to drop their demands, while Leny Yoro has chosen Real Madrid.
Jean-Clair Todibo was another top target for £40m, however, UEFA have refused this move because both Nice and United are in the Europa League next season.
Ineos may have been told no to the deal by UEFA, but this hasn’t prevented them from continuing to search for a solution. Now, they have taken an extra measure to do so, likely under the argument that if United pay a fair price to Nice, there shouldn’t be an issue.
Ineos now pushing for Jean-Clair Todibo solution
While a move for Jean-Clair Todibo had seemingly reached the level of zero per cent likelihood, it may not be as certain as first believed.
New hope of adding Todibo to the defensive ranks comes from journalist Sacha Tavolieri who has now affirmed that Ineos want to bring the Frenchman to Old Trafford.
It’s reported that Ineos are now set to actually contest the UEFA regulations which have denied Todibo a move to Manchester thus far. In order to do so, Swiss lawyer Gianpaolo Monteneri has been hired to plead Ineos’ argument to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Monteneri is highly regarded within sport and football law and has a long successful track record in his career of resolving disputes in relation to contracts, transfers, employment and agency.
Gianpaolo has worked for FIFA in the past before establishing Monteneri Sports Law, as Head of the Players’ Status Department so he likely understands the laws better than anyone. If anyone can push through this deal it’ll be him.
With Ineos set to challenge the regulations, United In Focus spoke with TBR’s football finance expert Adam Williams to add some context.
“Historically, there have been no impediments to the transfer of players between clubs within the same ownership structure, so long as the deals are considered fair value.
“We’ve seen Man City move players from one club to another. And in Savio, whose move from Girona to the league champions is due to be announced this summer, they have a directly analogous situation to the Todibo case.
“However, that deal was agreed before UEFA began something of a crackdown on intra-ownership transfers, while United’s interest in Todibo came further down the line.
“That will frustrate United, but UEFA can’t be seen to be making retroactive exceptions to their rules, especially given that many clubs are exasperated by their leniency towards both Manchester clubs in allowing them to compete with their sister sides in Europe next season.”
If United can’t sign Todibo Ineos could soon lose interest in Nice
Adding to this, Adam explained that Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s desire for a multi-club model could mean he looks to leave Nice should UEFA not allow him to utilise the connection.
“Long term, if Ratcliffe is unsuccessful with his appeal at CAS, I’d expect him to divest his interest in Nice.
“He has said he is committed to Nice and is an admirer of the multi-club model, but the current crisis with the French TV deal is an existential threat for Ligue 1 clubs. And UEFA’s rules are a headache.
“He could instead look to establish a multi-club outpost outside of Europe, which would mitigate UEFA’s concerns about conflict of interest.
“To get the same recruitment benefits under the post-Brexit points system as he would via a European club would mean it would need to be a major acquisition in a big league, which would be expensive proportionate to what he might pay in Europe.
“But the commercial benefits are also arguably bigger in, say, the Brazilian market too. It’s why we’ve seen the owners of Man City, Liverpool and Villa look across the Atlantic for investment opportunities.”
It has been a long summer, and with this, it seems there’s no end in sight to the frustrations in the transfer market. We’ll have to wait and see what happens.