West Ham weigh up making a fresh bid for Nice centre back Jean-Clair Todibo after £25m offer was rejected - with new boss Julen Lopetegui keen to strengthen his backline

West Ham are pondering a fresh bid for Nice centre back Jean-Clair Todibo after their offer of £25.4million was rejected. 

The club are looking to sign a new defender this summer and are understood to have recently moved for Todibo, who was also admired by Manchester United.

With United barred from moving for the 24-year-old due to UEFA's ownership restrictions, however, Todibo is now on the shortlist of several teams.

New boss Julen Lopetegui is believed to be keen to strengthen his backline, having officially started work as David Moyes' successor earlier this week.

The Hammers also have Wolves captain Max Kilman on their radar and remain interested despite seeing an offer - again worth around £25m - rebuffed. 

Mail Sport previously revealed that West Ham view Kilman as a high priority target and are unlikely to be deterred by the rebuttal of their opening bid.

Todibo joined Nice from Barcelona in 2021 and is also thought to have attracted interest from Tottenham during the January transfer window.

He has made over 125 appearances for the Ligue 1 outfit but admitted in an interview with Mail Sport that he was open to moving to the Premier League.

Hammers technical director Tim Steidten, meanwhile, has insisted the club will not have to sell players to comply with the top-flight's profit and sustainability rules.

Promising a 'busy summer', he said: 'The board and the owner did a good job in the last couple of years. We are able to spend money and don't have to sell.

'I cannot tell you about the typical positions or player names but it will be a busy summer for all of us, for sure.

'The relationship with Julen in terms of recruitment is really important. We are talking almost every day, especially in terms of what type of profiles we are looking for.'