Transfer insider Dean Jones claims on the Ranks FC podcast that Manchester United manager, Erik ten Hag has a “big decision” to make on whether to follow through on signing Lille forward Jonathan David in January.
With United making good progress in the league and the team performing much better than last season, ten Hag is desperate to build on this after the World Cup break and one way of which he can do this is to bolster his forward line.
One player that has been on United’s radar is Lille striker, David, who represented Canada at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, where he played three matches but his side were knocked out in the group stages, despite putting in good performances during the tournament.
Since joining Lille ahead of the 2020/21 season, Jonathan David has scored 37 goals in 90 Ligue 1 appearances.
His 18.0% conversion rate this season is better than any Manchester United player [min. 10+ shots]
Ten Hag’s ideal Ronaldo replacement? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/0BwgolmnnH
— Statman Dave (@StatmanDave) November 25, 2022
Respected German reporter, Florian Plettenberg has revealed that David is “another candidate” for Man United as the club have scouted him on numerous occasions and that Lille would be open to selling their star striker in January if their valuation of £43 million can be met.
News #David: Another candidate of #MUFC is the 22 y/o Canadian striker. He was scouted several times and he wants to make the next step. We‘ve been told that Lille would release him in winter for around €50m transfer fee. @Sky_Marc @SkySportDE 🇨🇦 pic.twitter.com/Pjry4bdw3M
— Florian Plettenberg (@Plettigoal) November 25, 2022
However, writing for the CaughtOffside publication, Fabrizio Romano has said that United have not started talks about signing the Lille striker, who has scored nine goals in his fifteen appearances in Ligue 1 this season [Transfermarkt.com].
United are not the only club who are interested in the Canadian striker because Plettenberg tweeted that Everton were also interested in securing David’s signature but there has been no solid offer from the Toffees as of yet.
X News Jonathan #David: Been told that Everton was very interested in a transfer in 2023 but there was no concrete offer! No option for the 22 y/o striker anyway. He wants to join a Top12 club in 🇪🇺. Contract until 2025, NO release clause. Price: More than €50m! @SkySportDE 🇨🇦
— Florian Plettenberg (@Plettigoal) October 17, 2022
Dean Jones speaking to Give Me Sport understands that United are pondering over whether to lodge a bid for the Lille striker as they are not certain that David would be the perfect replacement for Cristiano Ronaldo, who has departed United after his bombshell interview with Piers Morgan.
It is perhaps understandable as to why United are still assessing their options because the club has been heavily linked with Cody Gakpo, who is starring at the World Cup with the Netherlands, where he has scored three goals so far [BBC Sport].
This is what Jones had to say about David potentially joining United when speaking to Caught Offside.
“We’ll have to wait to see whether they are convinced enough in terms of Jonathan David to actually turn their interest into a pursuit because there is a big difference there in terms of where we’re currently at and where we might get to.
“This is the big decision for United. At least they’ve got this gap now of a few weeks to decide exactly how they want to move forward.”