Aston Villa now favourites ahead of United to sign £21m star with 'incredible potential' - report

Aston Villa have moved ahead of Manchester United in the race to sign Nice defender Jean-Clair Todibo this summer, according to Foot Mercato.

The France international has been a long-term target for the Red Devils and they were interested in signing him at the start of last season.

United had planned to part ways with Harry Maguire to make a late swoop, but the former captain decided to stay and fight for his future.

The club continue to be credited with an interest and it was recently claimed that they could sign him alongside Jarrad Branthwaite this summer.

Foot Mercato now report that Villa have been closely following the 24-year-old and Unai Emery’s side value him more highly compared to United.

The Villans are ‘very interested‘ in signing him in the current transfer window.

United should not miss out on Todibo

The former Barcelona man is one of the best centre-backs in Ligue 1. He completed 74 passes per game last term with an accuracy of 90 percent.

He also made 3.1 clearances and 7.1 recoveries per outing while winning 1.9 tackles. Todibo won 60 percent of his duels, keeping 14 clean sheets.

He was described as a player with ‘incredible potential‘ by manager Francesco Farioli and in our view, the Red Devils should not miss out on his services.

It has been reported that Todibo could be signed on the cheap with a price tag of around £21 million.

Irrespective of the huge outlay required for Branthwaite, it would be a no-brainer decision to sign Todibo, who would suit United with his strong ball-playing skills.

United have an advantage with Sir Jim Ratcliffe owning the French outfit, but the final choice of destination would obviously rest on the player himself.

The club should persuade Todibo to join them amid interest from the Villans. The Toulouse graduate recently confirmed that he had a discussion with United last term.

Stats from Sofascore.com