West Ham United’s summer signing Jean-Clair Todibo has threatened to leave the club four months into his loan spell if Spanish head coach Julen Lopetegui remains in charge. The Frenchman was forced to train with the u-21’s squad this week, following an altercation with the coach, during half-time of the humiliating 2-5 defeat by Arsenal, that required players and staff to separate the two. Todibo is now likely to be dropped for key clashes against Leicester City and Wolverhampton Wanderers, with Lopetegui’s job hanging in the balance, if points aren’t picked up in these fixtures, with the hammers currently sitting in 14th in the Premier League.
Todibo was signed on a 12-month contract from Ligue 1 team Nice, following a successful four-year stint at the club, with a permanent transfer to be confirmed next summer, however his future at the club is now in serious doubt, as reports of West Ham wanting to part ways with the defender over the January transfer window have emerged. The hammers have endured a tough start to the 2024/25 campaign with their new coach, following long-term manager David Moyes leaving his role at the conclusion of last season.
Fans are not new to issues between coaches and players, with Moyes allegedly ‘freezing players out’ when he took issue with their form or attitude. This was the case for Atalanta striker Gianluca Scamacca, who was sold by the club less than a year after he was signed for £30.7m. Algerian winger Said Benrahma scored from the penalty spot for the club in their UEFA Conference League Final victory over Fiorentina, but was shipped out to Lyon in the Winter transfer window just six months later, despite an injury crisis at the club at the time.
The centre-back was identified as a future prospect for the club by sporting director Tim Steidten, who is attempting to carry his success of building a young, energetic and hungry side over from his previous side Bayer Leverkusen, who are currently third in the Bundesliga, and in the hunt for the second consecutive league title.
In Lopetegui’s short time with the club, there has already been multiple occasions of altercations with players, with attacking midfielder Mohammed Kudus allegedly being involved in a ‘bust up’ with the head coach after he was singled out following a poor display. In the subsequent match against Tottenham, Kudus was shown a straight red after a foul on Micky van de Ven sparked a melee, whereby the Ghanaian punched the Spurs centre-back and shoved Pape Matar Sarr in the face.
West Ham insider ‘ExWHUEmployee’ commented on the situation between Lopetegui and Todibo by saying, “Bowen had to step in and said that Todibo was being disrespectful towards the Head Coach, which diffused the situation.” For a new coach to be causing this level of conflict this early into his time at the club, highlights that this attempt at replacing Moyes has been a failure by the board, and a mix of this and the team’s poor run of performances, means that Lopetegui’s time as head coach of West Ham is surely close to its end.