FC Schalke 04 get an excellent deal for Jean-Clair Todibo
FC Schalke 04 have officially acquired Jean-Clair Todibo on a six-month loan from FC Barcelona, and the details of the transfer look fantastic for the Bundesliga side.
Jean-Clair Todibo had been closely linked to FC Schalke 04 over the past several weeks, as it seemed clear that the FC Barcelona defender would choose the Royal Blues over interest from AC Milan. On Wednesday, Schalke officially acquired the France international on a six-month loan deal that ends on June 30, per MARCA.
The details of the deal work out perfectly for the Royal Blues. For 1.5 million euros, they get to benefit from Todibo’s presence at center back for six months, and he could form a deadly starting duo with rising star Ozan Kabak, who has been the Bundesliga’s best center back since joining the starting lineup due to injuries to veteran players. Even when Benjamin Stambouli, Salif Sane, and Matija Nastasic are all fully healthy, Todibo cold still start.
If Todibo impresses, Schalke would only have to pay a total of 30 million euros to secure a permanent transfer for a 20-year-old who already impressed in limited appearances for La Blaugrana.
And if Barcelona want to buy Todibo back from Schalke at the end of the loan deal, they would have to pay a total of 60 million euros. So if Todibo plays well and Schalke help put him on the map, they will either be rewarded by keeping a future star center back or they will get a vast sum of money (about 30 million euros) they can use to buy another young star.
Schalke are in great shape heading into the Rückrunde, and acquiring Todibo makes them that much stronger. Any questions they had at center back have been more than resolved, and when everyone is healthy, the Royal Blue will absolutely have the best collection of center backs in the league. This could be an X-Factor in their pursuit of both a Champions League position and the title, since they are still in the thick of the race.
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Plus, the favorable terms of the deal mean that Schalke have a great chance of either prying away another promising Barca prospect or, at a minimum, getting a real chunk of change in return for basically nothing.