Barcelona have agreed a deal to allow Jean-Clair Todibo to join Schalke on an initial loan move, while they’ve confirmed that they have an option to re-sign him included in the agreement.
The 20-year-old joined the Catalan giants from Toulouse last January, but he struggled to make an impact as he made just five appearances for the reigning La Liga champions.
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With the likes of Gerard Pique, Clement Lenglet and Samuel Umtiti still ahead of him in the pecking order, a move away from the Nou Camp seemingly makes sense to secure a more prominent role elsewhere, and as noted by the club’s official site, he’s now secured a move to Schalke.
It’s noted that he will join the Bundesliga outfit on loan for the rest of the season while they’ll have to spend €25m+ to turn that move into a permanent one this summer if they wish to keep him.
Further, Barcelona have given themselves an option too if they wish to take Todibo back to the Nou Camp in the future, as it’s added that they can re-sign him for €50m plus €10m in add-ons, provided Schalke decide to exercise their option first.
While that is a lot of money, it’s arguably a sensible call from the Catalan giants, as they have given themselves an opportunity to allow Todibo to improve and develop his game with regular playing time in Germany, and if he does kick on and become one of the top centre-halves in Europe, they can simply re-sign him and bring in a long-term solution in that department.
Time will tell if he impresses Schalke enough for them to exercise their option to sign him this summer, and then from that point onwards, Barcelona will no doubt monitor his progress and weigh up a swoop of their own if they have a void to fill in the heart of their backline in the coming years.