Manchester United suffer early transfer blow as Liverpool 'eye' French defender

Manchester United have been blocked from signing Jean-Clair Tobido this summer due to transfer rules regarding INEOS’s ownership of Nice - which could open the door for Liverpool.

The Reds are reportedly in the market for a centre-back following Joel Matip’s departure and names such as Lille’s Leny Yoro and Bologna’s Riccardo Calafiori have been linked. It shows they are looking to sign a younger defender with strong qualities and potential to be a long-term success and United’s failure to secure Tobido could see them swoop in.

Having been linked with a move across the past few months, it was confirmed by owner Jim Ratcliffe that any moves for a Nice player are off the table this summer. “We've got a player in Nice who was really interested in joining Manchester United and I think he probably has the capability of being in the Manchester United squad,” Ratcliffe told Bloomberg. “They’ve (UEFA) said we can sell him to another Premiership club, but we can’t sell to Manchester United. But that’s not fair on the player and I don’t see what that achieves.” UEFA rules state that under the current 'multi-club ownership' rules the two clubs, who are both set to compete in the Europa League next season, are unable to directly trade players between each other. Although, it means he can still move to another Premier League side this summer.

The 24-year-old has listed as a target for Liverpool in the past. Todibo’s agent, Bruno Satin, told Italian media which clubs had been in contact regarding a transfer in 2019. “(Napoli director Cristiano) Giuntoli asked me. But there were Liverpool, Juventus and Leverkusen. But then the boy wanted Barcelona,” he told radio station Kiss Kiss. And this summer is another chance for them to move for the Frenchman if deals for other targets do not come to fruition.

After all, he fits the bill as a six foot three, defensively sound player who was part of a Nice backline that kept 17 clean sheets in Ligue 1. He is also an exceptional ball-playing defender who ranks high for take-ons, progressive passes and carries, passes attempted and shot-creating-actions for defenders in Europe. If Liverpool fail to secure either one of the highly-lauded duo of Yoro and Calafiori then Tobido could emerge as a great alternative option.