Seven young stars that will impress in La Liga this season

Jean-Clair Todibo (19) – Centre-Back, Barcelona

Barcelona missed out on the Matthijs de Ligt sweepstakes in August, but they may not have to look far to find the team’s next generational defensive talent.

From the moment Barca’s scouting department began to analyze Jean-Clair Todibo while he was with Toulouse, the club knew that there was something unique about the French international.

At 6′ 3″, it is not difficult to lose track of his presence among the crowded field of players on the pitch. A towering figure among his peers, Todibo uses his physical attributes of size and strength to his advantage against opponents. He can bully his way to completing a tackle with just enough force to sway the opponent away from the ball. His unwavering trackback speed allows him to thwart any threatening attacking movements from the opponent.

For the moment, Barca see Todibo as a project player with great potential as an all-around defensive talent. So far, the Blaugrana have been satisfied with what they have seen from him such as with his 6.2 clearances per game and 85.7% tackles won rate in 10 games with Toulouse last season.

Todibo is projected to see a rise in minutes this upcoming season; he is currently the team’s 4th option at centre-back. Expect the Frenchman to mostly feature in early Copa Del Rey games and likely over 10 La Liga games depending how the season pans out for Barca. Learning from the likes of Gerard Pique and Samuel Umtiti will also surely be an influential component in his development.