Troy Deeney has made a stunning U-turn on a West Ham star he once labelled a ‘disgrace’ and fans will be hoping it is a new beginning for the flop.
Outspoken pundit Troy Deeney always speaks well on the Hammers.
He called that Julen Lopetegui would not last long as West Ham boss and said Graham Potter was the completely wrong fit too.
The former Premier League striker defended Mark Noble after he was criticised by Joey Barton.
Deeney even said West Ham fans are the best in the country.
Deeney knows his stuff when it comes to West Ham
So when he speaks, Hammers supporters should probably listen.
Deeney is not shy to have forthright opinions. But now he has shown he’s honest enough to change his mind too.
Just ask Jean-Clair Todibo.
Just a week ago the French defender’s West Ham future was hanging in the balance.
Todibo was massively underwhelming in his debut season after arriving as the jewel in the crown of West Ham’s £155m summer splurge.
But now he is the £32m conundrum for Nuno Espirito Santo to answer at West Ham.
Things did not look great for Todibo when Nuno first arrived.
He was left out of the Portuguese’s first couple of squads.
That was accompanied by news that Italian clubs were planning to sign Todibo from West Ham in the January transfer window.
The injury to Konstantinos Mavropanos opened the door for Todibo to come back into the side, though.
Todibo has been seriously frustrating so far at West Ham.
He looks Champions League one minute and Championship another.
Deeney changes opinion on West Ham star he called a ‘disgrace’
When West Ham played Ipswich at the end of last season, Deeney slammed Todibo.
“He was a disgrace in that game,” Deeney said at the time.
“He was a disgrace. He was literally letting people walk past him!”
Deeney has since criticised Todibo on other occasions, justifiably so given how poor the ex Barca flop has been.
But Todibo put in his best performance yet in a West Ham shirt as the Hammers beat Newcastle 3-1 at the weekend.
Todibo was one of five players getting a 10/10 score for West Ham in the victory over the Magpies.
He was imperious against the in-form Nick Woltemade, looking more like a £32m player than he has at any point in his Hammers career so far.
And Deeney was big enough to dish out praise despite labelling him a disgrace previously and even named Todibo in his Premier League team of the week.
The pundit shared the two reasons Hammers ace Todibo made his BBC Sport Team of the Week.
One of those being that Nuno is the perfect manager for him.
“Jean-Clair Todibo, he is in for two reasons,” Deeney said.
Deeney explains why he was impressed by Hammers ace Todibo
“Firstly, West Ham won a game, but I also thought he was measured and assured.
“Newcastle were not at their best, but you can only beat what is in front of you.
“I thought he was really good on the ball and calmed it down. Last few weeks he has looked ropey and a bit scared but it looked like he had grown a little bit under the guidance of Nuno Espirito Santo.”
It is still too early to know whether Todibo has turned a corner.
But an astonishing revelation emerged last month showing West Ham’s win record is far superior with Todibo in the side than out of it.
