Barcelona manager Ronald Koeman is known for his straight-talking and had a pretty clear message for on-loan defender Jean-Clair Todibo on Saturday.
The Dutchman was asked in his pre-match press conference if there was any chance the center-back could return to help with the club’s defensive problems and replied, “I’ve said before Todibo is a Barca player technically but I’m not counting on him.”
Todibo arrived at Barcelona in January 2019 but has struggled to make an impact at the club. He was sent out on loan to Schalke last season and then moved to Benfica in October on another temporary deal.
Yet the 21-year-old has only made two appearances for the club in 2020-21. The center-back could move to French side Nice for the rest of the season, according to Moises Llorens at ESPN. The deal would include a purchase option of around €8-10 million.
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Koeman Talks Barcelona Defenders
Koeman also spoke about Barcelona defenders following a leaked report from Ramon Planes. The sporting director had recommended the club sign Eric Garcia in January because Gerard Pique will be out until April, Samuel Umtiti is unreliable due to his injury record, and Oscar Mingueza is “not yet ready” to perform in key games, as reported by Sport.
Yet Koeman played down the report and offered his thoughts on Umtiti and Mingueza.
A Barca player always has to be prepared for everything. Umtiti has been out for some time because of injury. I think he’s recovered well and we are counting on him. We’ve had Mingueza for some games, he’s come up, playing at right-back and center-back. We’ll see what happens in the future.
The Barcelona boss was also asked if he has spoken to Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola about the possibility of bringing in Garcia in the January window.
I spoke to Pep to congratulate him on his 50th birthday but we haven’t spoken about Eric, it’s not my job. We already know he will probably arrive in the summer. If it’s not possible this January, then we’ll accept it and move on.
With time rapidly running out in the transfer window, it looks highly unlikely that Garcia will arrive and that Barcelona will wait until the defender is a free agent in the summer to bring him to the Camp Nou.
Koeman Gets Real
Barca’s next match is on Sunday against Athletic at the Camp Nou. It’s Barca’s first home game of 2021 following a run of eight consecutive away matches and gives the team the chance to avenge their Super Cup final defeat to the Basque side.
The Catalan giants head into the match in good form but still a distant 10 points behind leaders Atletico Madrid in the table, and Koeman is realistic about his team’s chances of silverware this season.
We know our situation in La Liga. There’s a pretty big difference in points, it’s going to be tough, but until it’s mathematically impossible we just have to win our games. Regarding the Champions League, I don’t think there’s a clear favorite. We know we have two matches against PSG and we will try to go through. That’s our job.
Barca lost 3-2 to Athletic after extra-time in the Super Cup but beat Marcelino’s men by the same scoreline when the two teams met at San Mames in La Liga at the start of the year.
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