This article is part of Football FanCast’s In Numbers series, which takes a statistical look at performances, season-long form and reported transfer targets…
Barcelona rounded off their Champions League group stage games on Tuesday night as they travelled to San Siro to meet Inter Milan.
Of course, for the Catalans, that game was mostly irrelevant as they had already secured their place in the knockout stages as group winners.
For that reason, there was no Lionel Messi along with some other big names that were missing from the team sheet as Ernesto Valverde decided to give some of his fringe players a chance to shine against a Nerazzurri team fighting for their survival.
One of those players was also Jean-Clair Todibo, a young defender who’s fallen behind the pecking order in the Blaugrana’s backline, so much so that this was in fact only his third game in the ongoing season and fifth overall since his arrival at the club.
It’s also the first one in 2019/20 that he saw through from the first until the last minute and he did not disappoint.
Todibo was simply instrumental in Barcelona’s 2-1 victory over the Italians and with Southampton reportedly prowling around for the player, as stated by ESPN (09:29), the Premier League side may want to take notice of this masterful display.
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The 19-year-old centre-back was the highest-rated player on the team, according to Whoscored, with a rating of 8.00.
He got it by registering a total of eight tackles, one interception and four clearances. Not only that, but he was good in the air with three aerial duels won as well.
But Todibo is a player who’s extremely comfortable on the ball and he showed it with 77 touches and 82.1% passing accuracy on the night.
Of course, since Barcelona love to dominate possession – seeing how they average 62% possession in La Liga this campaign – it was no surprise that their centre-backs had to be involved and the young Frenchman did not disappoint.
Southampton should be very pleased with this performance as they surely need someone of his talent and quality to help them escape the danger zone back in England.
The Saints have conceded 18 goals in just 16 games and they will need to bolster their defence sooner rather than later.
Barcelona have also reportedly been locked in discussions with Bayer Leverkusen over a €10m (£8.4m) deal, though the German outfit’s reluctance to include a buy-back clause could be a deal-breaker.
Apart from Southampton, Watford and Bayer Leverkusen also seem keen on his signature.
It remains to be seen who ends up winning this bout.
In other news, Juventus should stay away from Manchester United’s outcast who’s currently plying his trade back in Italy as well…
