After being constantly linked with a handful of Premier League clubs, Barcelona defender Jean-Clair Todibo joined Benfica on a two-year loan deal and the Portuguese side retain an option to make his transfer permanent for €20m.
Fulham were one of the sides in England who wanted to take the 20-year-old and were ready to offer €18m to sign the defender on a permanent deal.
The Cottagers even had an agreement in principle with the La Liga side, but earlier reports indicated the Frenchman and his camp were resisting to move to Craven Cottage, but there was no explanation as to why Todibo wasn’t keen on joining the Premier League side.
Journalist Miguel Rico, writing in the last page of today’s edition of Mundo Deportivo, 
details the France U20 international ‘did not want to go to London in any way’, even though Ronald Koeman’s side ‘pushed until the end to leave’.
Rico claims Todibo felt that Fulham, who suffered four defeats in their first four league matches, were not competitive enough.
A move to Fulham would have helped Barcelona earn €18m, but the Catalan club are now forced to settle for a €2m loan fee which they will receive from Benfica.
