Tottenham, West Ham on red alert as club slashes £52m asking price for striker wanted by AC Milan
Tottenham have received a boost in their pursuit of Jonathan David after Lille reportedly slashed the Canadian striker’s asking price.
The 23-year-old has 62 goals and 11 assists in 154 appearances for the Ligue 1 club but has started 2023/24 very slowly, scoring four goals in 18 matches so far.
He is one player who has been relentlessly linked with a move to the Premier League in recent years without a transfer ever seeming close to being finalised.
Arsenal, Liverpool, West Ham, Manchester United and Tottenham are among those to be linked with the Canadian international.
There has also been interest from elsewhere with AC Milan believed to be keeping tabs on him.
Speaking in December 2021, David’s agent confirmed that he was looking to leave Lille in the following summer transfer window, though that clearly did not come to fruition.
“For us, the goal is to finish the season in Lille, but it will be his last season there for several reasons. I think the Premier League is a good option for him,” Nick Mavromaras told Radio Canada nearly two years ago.
“I think that he likes Spain a lot also because he likes the feeling of the ball and the very technical players. These two leagues are a big priority for him, but nothing is excluded.”
The desire to play in England is clearly there and Spurs will be pleased to see that Lille have slashed their asking price ahead of the January transfer window.
David is out of contract in 2025, so the French side will likely be eager to cash in and they know the two windows in 2024 represent their best opportunity to do so.
According to il Gazzetta dello Sport, Lille now want €40million (£34.7million) for their striker due to his slow start to the campaign.
It is claimed that they were previously hoping to receive €60m (£52.1m).
Of course, this outlet are from Italy, so the main focus of the story is on Milan’s interest in the 23-year-old.
The report claims that David could be the last piece of the puzzle for the Rossoneri with Olivier Giroud in the latter stage of his career.
If Ange Postecoglou wishes to bring the former KAA Gent player to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, it looks like they will be going head to head with the Serie A giants, who ‘have been thinking about him for months now’.
A new striker is believed to be a top priority for the Spurs head coach after Harry Kane was sold to Bayern Munich in the summer.
Richarlison has struggled in front of goal since his £50m move from Everton in 2022, so has been unable to nail down a starting spot in north London.
West Ham could also be a good landing spot for David after David Moyes let Gianluca Scamacca return to Italy after a single season in the Premier League.
Furthermore, Michail Antonio picked up a knee injury while representing Jamaica last week, so a new No. 9 could be on the agenda for the Hammers.
David represented Canada during the international break, scoring in his side’s 2-1 Nations League win at Jamaica before drawing a blank in a 3-2 loss in Toronto four days later.
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