Manchester United hoping INEOS will convince player to join them over Liverpool

Manchester United will be hoping that INEOS can convince Nice captain Jean-Clair Todibo to sign with them over Liverpool this summer.

Manchester United are heavily scouring the market to sign a new centre-back this summer, with the futures of Raphaël Varane, Harry Maguire, Victor Lindelöf, and Jonny Evans all in the balance.

While not all of these players will leave, it is certainly possible that one or two of them will depart from Erik ten Hag‘s squad this summer, as Varane is in his final few months while there has been no news regarding the future of Evans.

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United are keen to sign French centre-back Jean-Clair Todibo from Ligue 1 club Nice, who are owned by Sir Jim Ratcliffe – but they are not leading the race.

This is according to French outlet Nice-Matin, who claim that Liverpool are now leading the battle for Todibo’s signature.

With Ratcliffe and INEOS set to take all sporting control of Manchester United as they assess the summer’s transfer targets, there are now obvious links between United and Nice, which could help hand the Old Trafford club a boost in negotiations.

Beyond the clubs, there is, of course, the chance that Liverpool may hold the cards due to being perceived as a more attractive option in the eyes of the player, but INEOS has greater access to Todibo himself, which may allow United’s new directors to convince the player to choose Old Trafford over Anfield.

CaughtOffside has claimed that Todibo could cost either club in excess of £50 million.