‘Supreme’ £35m centre-back won’t be joining Tottenham in January

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Alex Crook has claimed that Jean-Clair Tobido will be staying at OGC Nice this month, despite interest from Tottenham Hotspur.

Spurs are searching for a new centre-back during the current transfer window following injuries to both Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero. 

Van de Ven has been sidelined since early November while Romero has only made four appearances in this period.

That’s down to the red card the Argentine picked up against Chelsea and he was forced off with a hamstring injury in the 2-1 win over Everton last month.

Tottenham have been heavily linked with moves for Jean-Clair Tobido and Genoa’s Radu Dragusin.

And with Spurs reportedly stepping up their interest in Dragusin, it seems that Tobido is set to stay in France beyond the January transfer window.

Tobido won’t be joining Tottenham

Speaking on talkSPORT, Alex Crook shared an update on Tobido’s future amid interest from Spurs. 

“Yeah centre-back is the key area that Ange Postecoglou has been targeting,” the journalist said. “They’ve held loose talks with Nice about Jean-Clair Todibo.

“He’s got a lot of interest in the Premier League, Manchester United and Chelsea as well, looking ahead to the summer.

“But it looks like he’ll stay at Nice for this transfer window.”

Previous reports had suggested that Tobido could be available for around £35 million this month.

Yet, the 24-year-old looks set to remain in France and it’s easy to understand why Nice are so keen to keep hold of him.

The Ligue 1 outfit currently sit in second place in France’s top division, just behind league leaders Paris Saint-Germain. Offloading their best defender would hardly benefit them in their search for the title. 

But from Tottenham’s point of view, it will come as a blow to miss out on the ‘supreme’ defender, especially if he ends up at Manchester United or Chelsea this summer.

Nevertheless, Spurs seem to have another target lined up in Dragusin and he has been equally as impressive for Genoa this season.