Manchester United are allegedly close to signing Nice defender Jean-Clair Todibo in a €40m (£34m) deal.

The Frenchman has been heavily linked with a move to Old Trafford over the last couple of weeks, although the speculation has cooled following the breakdown of Harry Maguire's proposed move to West Ham United.

Any deal for Todibo was thought to hinge on Maguire's future, but according to L'Equipe, the 20-time English champions are pressing ahead with a move for the centre-back.

The report claims that the deal is now 'in sight', with Erik ten Hag's said set to pay €40m (£34m) to bring him to Manchester before the end of the summer transfer window.

Todibo came through the youth system at Toulouse, eventually progressing to the first team, and he made 10 appearances for the club ahead of a switch to Barcelona in July 2019.

The defender found it difficult to make his mark at Camp Nou, though, being restricted to just five appearances in all competitions, spending time out on loan with Schalke 04, Benfica and Nice.

Todibo eventually completed a permanent move to his current side in June 2021, and he has represented them on 104 occasions, scoring twice in the process.

The former France Under-20s international has played once this season, featuring against Lille on August 11, but he was not involved in the team's game with Lorient on Sunday night.

Nice have the defender on a contract until June 2027, but it is alleged that he is now close to leaving the Ligue 1 outfit in order to make the move to Man United.

Despite turning down the chance to leave West Ham, there is still believed to be a chance that Maguire will leave the Red Devils before the end of the transfer window.

The speculation surrounding the 30-year-old's future gathered pace when he was not included in the Man United squad for the Premier League clash with Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday.

However, it was later revealed that Maguire missed the game in North London due to a minor injury.

Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez are the first-choice centre-backs at Old Trafford, while Victor Lindelof is also ahead of Maguire in the pecking order.

Jonny Evans has also been with the club this summer, and a recent report claimed that the Northern Ireland international is close to penning a one-year contract at Old Trafford. body check tags ::