Jean-Clair Todibo says he’s glad that Julen Lopetegui slowly eased him into life in the Premier League.

West Ham still have only 1 win to their name this season in the league following their 1-1 draw away to Brentford, but it’s a valuable point in a fixture they’ve previously struggled in.

While there were some genuine positives to take from the performance, one of the biggest was undoubtedly Jean-Clair Todibo getting his first 90 minutes. Fans have been dying for Julen Lopetegui to start the Frenchman for weeks, but he is thankful that he had time to slowly ease in. “It was good to play my first 90 minutes in the Premier League,” Todibo told WHUFC.com. “Unfortunately we took that goal at the beginning of the game, but we showed a good reaction afterwards and I think we did well. We deserved maybe more than a draw, but it’s okay, it’s a good point today I think.”

“I’m happy because I think the Club gave me the time to get fit. I didn’t have a pre-season before I came here, so it took me a bit of time to come back well. The game is more intense in the Premier League than in Ligue 1, more intense than all the leagues in the world, I think. Today I’m not 100 per cent, but I think I’m going to improve more with the time, and have a good impact in the team.”

Although he’s not been at the club long, he’s already begun to form great connections with some of his teammates, particularly Max Kilman, who he says he loves playing alongside. “The team has a lot of good quality, a lot of good players like Jarrod [Bowen], like Mo [Kudus], Lucas [Paquetá] as well. And I love playing with Max [Kilman],” he claimed.

“I think we have a really good team, we just need time to understand each other. The Club bought nine new players and has a new coach, so we all need time for everything to go well. I’m sure we will compete against the teams at the top.”

“Next week, it’s time for us to win [against Ipswich Town]. It was a tough period last week to lose twice by big scores, but there is a good direction with the team and we’re confident for next week because we work a lot for this.”

Things need to improve and fast if Lopetegui wants to avoid things turning toxic, but getting Todibo up to speed will undoubtedly be key in turning around his fortunes. If his performance against Brentford is just the beginning, then our Irons have a serious player on their hands.