“Like a New Signing” Set to Transform Hammers Defence. Graham Potter has probably become very familiar with the phrase “it’s like having a new player” during his short stint at West Ham.
He’ll have already experienced it with the return of Jarrod Bowen, and one suspects the phrase has also been used in relation to James Ward-Prowse.
However, the return of Jean-Clair Todibo really will be like a new signing for Potter, as it will truly open up his options for expanding on his favoured formation with three central defenders.
Hammer’s burning sense of injustice remains
It’s been a case of square pegs in round holes for the new Hammers gaffer, who has been deploying full-backs alongside Max Kilman. To be fair, they’ve performed well enough, but there is no substitute for a tailor-made centre-back, and Todibo would be a vast improvement on Vladimir Coufal and the error-prone Konstantinos Mavropanos.
Perhaps Potter’s plan was to deploy Aaron Wan-Bissaka at RCB, but he’ll be busy covering for the injured Crysencio Summerville for the next two months. It would be fair to say that Todibo—like many others—was unsuited to former boss Julen Lopetegui’s chaotic defensive system, but I suspect things will be vastly different now.
The Frenchman should fit perfectly into the new gaffer’s philosophy and style and will most certainly “seem like having a new signing”. I also expect the team to improve as a result because the reasons Europe’s top clubs were chasing Todibo still apply, and I suspect we’ll soon see why he carried a £35m price tag
