Liverpool in pole position to complete €60M signing, ”very close” to monstrous Reds star

Liverpool have taken the lead in the race to sign highly-rated centre-back Jean-Clair Todibo from OGC Nice after a report this week.

Manchester United no longer have the edge with Liverpool said to have the "advantage" over their bitter rivals.

Jurgen Klopp has been forced to contend with a swarth of defensive injuries this term, most notably losing Joel Matip to an anterior cruciate ligament tear.

The Cameroonian will now spend the remainder of his Liverpool contract on the treatment table, representing a saddening end to his memorable time at Anfield.

Liverpool in pole position to sign Jean-Clair Todibo ahead of Manchester United

A report from French news outlet close to the Ligue 1 club, Nice-Matin, Liverpool are in pole position to sign Jean-Clair Todibo in the summer.

24-year-old is an exciting player and would not look out of place at Liverpool while he would greatly increase the level of Manchester United's defence.

However, the Red Devils may have to watch from afar with Klopp leading to sign him. Moving to Anfield is described as a "very attractive" prospect for the centre-back.

Todibo is "very close" to Ibrahima Konate

Encouragingly for Liverpool, Todibo is said to be "very close" with Ibrahima Konate, who could quite easily explain why moving to Merseyside would be an excellent decision.

Signing the defender would cost around €60 million (£51.6M) but given his stats, that is a decent price.

Data from Fbrefs suggests that Todibo is one the cusp of emerging as one of the very best central defenders in the world. He ranks in the 90th percentile for tackles (2.25) made per 90 by a centre-back in Europe.

He also averages nearly two interceptions per game while rarely makes an error.

Most excitingly for a team like Liverpool that places a huge emphasis on counter-pressing, Todibo averages 7.84 ball recoveries per 90, placing him in the 97th percentile for that category.

Plain and simple: Todibo would be a top, top signing.