West Ham Defender Has to Accept Brutal Truth as Nuno Makes Tough Call

Spare a thought for poor old Jean-Clair Todibo. Because unless Nuno Espírito Santo changes to a back three when West Ham play Brentford today, the Frenchman is unlikely to see much game time.

JCT, it could be argued, was the Hammers’ most improved player once Nuno arrived at the London Stadium. The gaffer’s decision to swap Todibo from right central defence to the left was something of a masterstroke and kickstarted West Ham’s defensive improvement.

Todibo Unlucky As New Pairing Takes Over

It was only really a poorly timed injury followed by a red card against Chelsea which opened the door to a whole new defensive partnership which is unlikely to be broken up.

In a cruel twist of fate, Todibo’s absence resulted in Nuno having to trust Konstantinos Mavropanos, who hasn’t looked back since. Then came the arrival of Axel Disasi, who would be a serious contender for Hammer of the Year had he signed in the summer.

Between them, Dinos and Disasi have formed one of the best central defensive partnerships in the Premier League and have played a huge part in the West Ham revival. The on-loan defender has looked like the player Chelsea thought they were getting, whilst Mavropanos has been nominated for the Premier League Player of the Month award.

West Ham Suddenly Have Defensive Strength

It’s probably unusual for a relegation-threatened team to have three high-calibre central defenders in the squad. The irony, of course, is that the Hammers’ most expensive CB – £40m Max Kilman – is nowhere near the level of the other three.

As for Todibo, he’ll just have to wait for his chance but, in the nicest possible way… I hope he doesn’t get it.