Fabrizio Romano provides big update on Man Utd striker pursuit with new club ‘heavily interested’ in Ten Hag objective
Manchester United will face competition from a major German club in their attempts to land Lille striker Jonathan David, according to Fabrizio Romano.
David managed 19 goals in 48 appearances across all competitions last season. That helped Lille reach the Champions League round of 16, where they lost to Chelsea, while they were also left disappointed by finishing 10th in Ligue 1.
David is in even better form this term. His record stands at an impressive 17 goals from 26 matches, which means he is close to eclipsing his tally from last season.
The Canadian is on Man Utd’s shortlist as they look to replace Wout Weghorst this summer. While the Netherlands international would like to remain at Old Trafford past his loan spell, it is likely Erik ten Hag will bring in a top goalscorer to upgrade his attack. And David is in his sights, with Harry Kane, Victor Osimhen and Benjamin Sesko other potential targets.
David will probably be the easiest of those four strikers to capture. Kane and Osimhen will both cost big money as their respective clubs – Tottenham and Napoli – are desperate to keep them. Sesko, meanwhile, has already agreed to join RB Leipzig from sister club Red Bull Salzburg. Man Utd can still scupper this move, but it will take a lot of convincing.
David, in contrast, is already gearing up for a big transfer away from Lille. In December, manager Paulo Fonseca admitted it will be tough to keep the star going forward.
“It will be difficult to keep Jonathan David at the club next season,” Fonseca said. “There are not many strikers with his skills and numbers in Europe. He’s just 22.
“I think top European clubs will try to sign Jonathan David.”
Man Utd striker transfer under threat
And Fonseca looks set to be proven right. Man Utd are expected to make an approach, but Leipzig could ruin their plans.
In a tweet, Romano has revealed how the Bundesliga outfit are ‘heavily interested’ in David. He is a ‘top target’ for Leipzig due to two reasons.
The first is his deadly nature in front of goal, which has made him the joint-top scorer in Ligue 1 alongside Kylian Mbappe and Folarin Balogun.
The second reason Leipzig have struck up an interest in David is that he can either play as the main centre-forward or as a second striker. This means he play just behind Sesko next season, should the latter’s transfer from Salzburg go through.
Romano states other clubs would like to sign David too, although he does not name them.
Man Utd will be frustrated about Leipzig joining the race for David. It means they will potentially have to pay more money for him to outbid Marco Rose’s team.
Lille, meanwhile, will have mixed emotions about Man Utd and Leipzig pursuing their star man. While they would love to keep him, they know an exit is bound to happen in the summer transfer window.
And the fact Man Utd are no longer the only potential suitors means Lille will make an even bigger profit when letting him go. They spent €27.5million on him in August 2020 but will receive way more than that this summer.
Elsewhere, Arsenal are reportedly in pole position to sign a Premier League star Ten Hag wants at Man Utd.
