Schalke: There’s no alternative to Jean-Clair Todibo now

Schalke has to decide if they’re going to keep Jean-Clair Todibo for the long-term, but at this point, they really don’t have a choice in the matter.

Jean-Clair Todibo came to Schalke as yet another young player that could blossom with Die Knappen. On loan from Barcelona, he arrived at just the right time, and he joined a defense that, well, hasn’t been all that bad.

Schalke’s defense has been the one thing this year that hasn’t buckled. Sure, they got battered by Bayern Munich, then shortly after got battered by RB Leipzig, then got semi-battered by FC Koln, but overall, this defense doesn’t need much adjusting. It’s in a good place.

Even with Salif Sane and Benjamin Stambouli out, they’ve held strong and discovered how tremendous Ozan Kabak is, as well as Todibo, more recently.

So with the lull in the action, it’s time to start talking about what happens next with some of these players—Todbio, for instance.

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• Schalke 04: Omar Mascarell the only boost between now and then
• Schalke 04: David Wagner just has to make it to the end of the season
• Schalke 04: At least we still have Weston McKennie

At this point, there’s really no choice. We have to sign him. No way around it. He has settled too much, become so good, ingratiated himself into the culture here in Gelsenkirchen that to part with him now would be… tough. Unnecessary.

We’d have to replace him. It doesn’t appear that Stambouli is going to be signing an extension, so that leaves Salif Sane and Ozan Kabak as the go-to centerbacks. If we don’t extend Todibo, we only have Matija Nastasic and as we learned this year, you can never be too prepared on defense. It’s what’s prevented this season from going completely into the tubes. Our defense has held steady and maintained enough 1-1 or 0-0 draws to keep at least a steady, if not underwhelming, flow of points.

That doesn’t happen without capable defenders, and Todibo is nothing if not that. He’s taken home player of the month for February.

According to Transfermarkt, Todibo’s value is $11million, which is more than a reasonable fee, even if the Blues have to end up spending a little more than that. He’s the exact kind of defender that’s needed and, long-term, pairing him with Ozan Kabak is what dreams are made of.

Stock the defense with guys that you know. When those rainy days come when we still can’t score goals, it’s guys like Todibo that will help ensure that we don’t drop all our points, but rather maintain one. You can’t not sign him now.