Jonathan David is expected to turn down a contract extension at Lille to become a free agent this summer with Liverpool among host of clubs interested in forward
Window after window has passed but Jonathan David remains at Lille.
This summer, however, the Canada striker will become a free agent and it remains anyone’s guess where he ends up. For five years he has been linked with moves to the majority of Europe’s big clubs and tonight the 25-year-old will be presented with another audition at Anfield.
Liverpool’s recruitment at the end of the season remains up in the air until a decision is made about the big three nearing the end of their deals. But if Mohamed Salah goes then Arne Slot ’s frontline will require bolstering – and the links with David were there sporadically through the Jurgen Klopp era.
Tottenham are among those to have been talked up as a destination in recent days, too, but Lille have made it clear that David will not be leaving the club this month. Signing a new contract, on the other hand, appears unlikely with an offer made months ago but no signal that it will be signed.
“What am I waiting for? I guess now it’s easier to say. I’m in the last year of my contract,” David said earlier this season. “Eventually my contract is going to run out. So then we’ll see. We’ll see what happens next year. I’m open to anything.
“I think obviously the Premier League is regarded as one of the best leagues in the world. And for me it’s not the Premier League or bust. I’m open to anything and every league has its challenges.”
David’s agents have recently reiterated that everything is on the table when it comes to his future, and he is doing a good job at auditioning so far this season.
He arrives on Merseyside with 17 goals scored across Ligue 1 and the Champions League so far this season. Only Mason Greenwood has found the net more in the top tier than his dozen and Lille sit in third spot, on course for again reaching next season’s Champions League.
Bruno Genesio’s team are unbeaten in 20 games, with their most recent defeat coming against Ruben Amorim’s Sporting Lisbon in mid-September, and sit eighth in the bloated Champions League league phase table before this week’s games.
They are almost guaranteed a play-off spot – and much of it is down to David’s brilliance.
He may not have scored in five appearances but he did provide a third assist of the season in the weekend win at home to Nice, proving he can still turn creator when not finding the net himself.
David, who can finish with both feet, has been used as a solo man up top by Genesio but in the past he has proven that he can mix things up and drop deep or act as a support striker.
Such versatility is what makes him so attractive to teams across the continent.
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