According to Portuguese publication O Jogo, Barcelona defender Jean-Clair Todibo’s loan with Benfica may be cut short before he’s even had the chance to feature for the Portuguese side.
O Jogo report that Benfica are expected to recruit Santos defender Lucas Verissimo in January, a move that is set to lead to one current centre-back exiting.
Todibo and Ferro are the prime candidates, the Barcelona loanee has not featured at all yet due to injury troubles whilst Portuguese Ferro has only made two outings totalling 17 minutes so far.
Manager Jorge Jesus unsurprisingly prefers a vastly experienced partnership that consists of former Premier League stars Jan Vertonghen and Nicolas Otamendi.
Todibo was one of the faces to leave the Nou Camp this summer as part of a massive rebuild, the ace’s two-year loan deal includes a €20m permanent option, whilst Barcelona net a €2m fee.
Todibo had been sidelined with an achilles tendon injury, but the Frenchman has now also suffered a tear in his thigh.
O Jogo report that Todibo’s possible departure would be based on whether Verissimo is in fact signed as well as if an exit can be negotiated with Barcelona.
It would be interesting to see whether Barcelona would still receive a €2m loan fee if it’s cut short, despite Todibo not playing a single minute yet.
Todibo has has only played the entire 90 minutes in just one of his five first-team appearances for the Blaugrana, the French prospect joined the side in January 2019.
The centre-back spent the second-half of last season out on loan at Schalke, making 10 appearances, however Todibo’s form was shaky and the spell was blighted by injury troubles.