Julen Lopetegui is on the verge of giving Jean-Clair Todibo a run of games in the coming weeks, according to Football Insider.
The France international joined the club from OGC Nice in the summer, with the Hammers reportedly beating the likes of Juventus, Tottenham and Newcastle to the former Barcelona defender’s signature.
Todibo has been limited to just one start in West Ham‘s first five games of the new campaign, which came in the Carabao Cup 2nd round victory over Bournemouth, although he was hauled off at half-time in that one.
Many have questioned the decision to play Konstaninos Mavropanos alongside Max Kilman instead of Tobibo in the opening weeks of the season, while there have been suggestions of the defender struggling for fitness.
But now, according to Football Insider’s Pete O’Rourke, Lopetegui is preparing to give Todibo a spell in the starting XI in an attempt to add more of a presence in defence.
Getting closer to West Ham’s strongest XI?
Lopetegui has taken his time in integrating his eight new summer signings into his starting XI, with only Max Kilman starting every single game this season.
Guido Rodriguez has started each of the Hammers’ Premier League games, while Aaron Wan-Bissaka appears to have nailed down the right-back spot, but beyond those three newbies, the likes of Crysencio Summerville, Niclas Fullkrug, Carlos Soler and Todibo have all had to settle for a rotated involvement.
Meanwhile, Brazilian youngster Luis Guilherme is often been left out of the match day squad altogether.
Fans have been calling for Lopetegui to give these players an extended run in the starting XI, especially Todibo, as they crave a view of the talent the club spent over £150m on over the summer.
Those calls look set to be answered where the Frenchman is concerned.
It’s the next step towards seeing Lopetegui’s new-look West Ham at full strength, with the next move likely to be finding a way to include Soler in the midfield, at the expense of either Tomas Soucek or fellow summer signing Rodriguez.
