“The Big Todibo Change” by The Man Who Brought Him to West Ham

Jean-Clair Todibo’s recent rise in form at West Ham has come as no surprise to the man who helped bring him to the London Stadium — Barry Silkman.

Back in early summer 2024, Todibo was widely tipped to join Manchester United. The move, however, collapsed due to an ownership conflict involving Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s INEOS, who also held shares in Nice. After that fell through, the former Barcelona defender set his heart on joining Juventus — but the Italian giants simply didn’t have the money.

With West Ham the only club willing to meet Nice’s asking price, Todibo initially rejected the move, hoping Juve would return with a second bid. That’s when football agent and former Manchester City player Barry Silkman was called in to get the transfer over the line. Silky had previously rescued stalled deals for both Lucas Paquetá and Luís Guilherme, and once again he got the deal done.

Silkman: “This Is the Real Todibo”

When Claret & Hugh spoke to Silkman this morning about Todibo’s upturn in performances, he was clear: the centre-back’s quality was never in doubt — he just needed a proper run in the team and a manager who believed in him.

“The Todibo you’re seeing now is how he was playing in French football,” he said.

To be fair to Silky, shortly after Nuno Espírito Santo was appointed, he confidently predicted Todibo would become a regular starter under the new manager — and he’s been proven absolutely right.

When asked whether the transfer was difficult to complete, Silkman added:
“Well, Tim [Steidten] really wanted him, which helped.”

With Todibo and Mavropanos performing strongly and Mohamadou Kanté developing nicely, it’s clear that not every one of Tim Steidten’s signings was a flop