Leeds United ‘set to miss out on exciting young striker Jonathan David’ as Lille close in on £27million deal for Gent starlet after agreeing to sell Victor Osimhen to Napoli
- Jonathan David has scored 23 goals in 40 appearances for Gent this season
- The 20-year-old forward has also netted 11 goals in 12 appearances for Canada
- Arsenal had also been tracking David, while Leeds submitted an offer earlier
- But with Victor Osimhen close to joining Napoli, Lille are in pole position for him
Leeds United are set to miss out on a £27million deal for Jonathan David with a move to Lille edging closer, according to reports.
The Gent striker has scored 23 goals in 40 appearances this season, and has also been tracked by Arsenal as a potential replacement for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang or Alexandre Lacazette.
But The Daily Telegraph report that David, who has scored 11 goals in 12 appearances for Canada, has his heart set on a move to France.
Leeds United are set to miss out on a £27million deal for Gent striker Jonathan David
The 20-year-old striker has scored 23 goals in 40 appearances this season for the Belgian side
Despite David having publicly expressed his desire to play in the Premier League one day, the report claims he has not been swayed by the approach of Leeds since confirmation of their promotion to the top flight.
With Lille having agreed to sell Victor Osimhen to Napoli for £74m, the report adds the Ligue 1 side are hoping to strike an agreement with the Belgian side in the coming days as negotiations continue over the transfer fee.
Ivan de Witte, the Gent chairman, wants around £27million for the 20-year-old and said at the weekend that Leeds were among the clubs who had submitted a better offer than Lille.
Discussing Lille’s bid in Belgian paper De Zontag, De Witte confirmed: ‘The contacts stopped this week but other clubs are still interested with better proposals, including Leeds. But I once again explained to Jonathan we want him to play for us.’
Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds had submitted an offer for David after promotion to the Premier League
But after agreeing to sell Victor Osimhen to Napoli, Lille are leading the race to sign David
Leeds initial proposal was understood to include more guaranteed payments.
Earlier this month, David confirmed that he wanted his next step to be in France and was excited by Lille’s project
‘Yes, I want to come to Lille. I have had a very good season, my next step is Ligue 1,’ David said speaking to L’Equipe
‘And the footballing project at Lille is fantastic. They are a very good team in France.
‘I already speak French. That will help during my adaptation period and Lille is very close to Gent geographically. So I will be able to concentrate on the pitch.’
Arsenal had also tracked David as a potential replacement if Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang goes
