West Ham Defender Facing An Uncomfortable Reality

By Kris Gonzo | Senior West Ham Columnist (Follow on X)

Sir Alex Ferguson once said of Chelsea, Wimbledon and England midfielder Dennis Wise that “he could start a fight in an empty room”.

Indeed, I’ve known a few people in my time who could get into a row on their own inside a telephone box.

Some people are just like that, right?

They seem to fall out and argue with others repeatedly, and I found myself thinking about this when discussing Jean-Clair Todibo yesterday.

One Big Problem

Todibo wishes to leave West Ham and move elsewhere, but there is just one big problem…

Nobody wants to buy him.

On the face of it, that may seem odd to many outsiders. After all, the £35 million defender was arguably Nuno Espírito Santo’s best player until he was sent off at Stamford Bridge.

He is clearly talented, was once signed by Barcelona and has represented France at international level, which is no mean feat given the strength of their talent pool.

Unfortunately for Todibo, he has fallen out with Nuno Espírito Santo and has vowed never to play for the manager again.

Considering the most powerful man at West Ham, Daniel Křetínský, has decided to retain Nuno for the club’s bid to return to the Premier League, it was always clear Todibo would have to leave.

A Repeating Pattern

Unfortunately for the defender, his falling out with Nuno is not an isolated incident.

In fact, the Frenchman has had issues with all three of his head coaches during his short time at the London Stadium.

Viewed in isolation, Todibo’s actions at the end of last season probably wouldn’t have concerned too many potential buyers.

But shortly before Graham Potter lost his job at West Ham, he had stopped playing Todibo and, as I understand it, had even stopped speaking to him.

That was probably masked by the fact there were bigger stories around at the time and Potter had done such a poor job that many simply blamed the manager rather than the player.

Then we go back to Todibo’s first boss at the club, Julen Lopetegui, and another significant disagreement which became public knowledge.

One falling out might be unfortunate.

A second could perhaps be dismissed as coincidence.

But once it has happened three times, we’re beginning to see a pattern.

A Reputation That’s Hard To Shake

Of course, football has always been full of players who are difficult to manage.

Paolo Di Canio was certainly one such personality, and it took the right kind of manager in Harry Redknapp to get the very best out of him.

That shows difficult players are not necessarily unmanageable. However, it does narrow their options when looking for a new club.

West Ham won’t be the only club to have dealt with dressing-room disagreements. Put 30 professional footballers together every day and it’s inevitable not everyone will get on.

But a reputation for being awkward, argumentative and disruptive is a difficult one to shake.

Whilst there are probably clubs willing to take a chance on Todibo, they’re far less likely to want to spend tens of millions on that gamble.