Chelsea, Tottenham ‘handed £30m striker boost’ as rivals pull out of race

Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur have reportedly been handed a huge boost in their efforts to sign Lille striker Jonathan David, as one of the Canadian’s other suitors has withdrawn from the race.

The 24-year-old has been tipped to move away from Ligue 1 for a couple of years now, and having entered the last 12 months of his contract, a transfer should finally materialise this summer.

Lille have conceded that they will have to part ways with David this summer to avoid the prospect of losing him for nothing in 2025, and the possibility of a cut-price deal has alerted many Premier League suitors.

Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United are considered the top contenders for David’s signature, while Manchester United were also in the running before settling on Joshua Zirkzee.

Lille are said to have slapped a £30m price tag on the head of the former Genk striker, but taking agent fees into account as well, the overall expenditure could hit approximately £40m.

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West Ham ‘end’ interest in David after £30m claim

That fee will not prove overly problematic for most Premier League teams, including the trio interested in David, but according to The Sun, West Ham have now ended their interest.

Despite being willing to meet Lille’s £30m asking price, the Irons supposedly baulked at the £10m demands of his agents, having made it their mission to spend less on representative fees in future windows.

As a result, the Hammers hierarchy are refusing to sanction Julen Lopetegui‘s wish on this occasion, and they have already identified an alternative in the shape of Aston Villa’s Jhon Duran.

The Colombian – who was also previously linked with Chelsea – is thought to have a slightly higher asking price of £35m, but without the extortionate agent fees that West Ham are desperate to avoid paying.

Brentford’s Ivan Toney has been identified as another alternative to David, whom Chelsea and Tottenham will seemingly now go head-to-head for; Newcastle United are also interested but cannot offer him any form of European football.

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It is thought that Lille could also be persuaded to accept a fee of £25m or as little as £20m for the Canada international, who joined the club for €27m (£22.7m) from Genk in the summer of 2020.

How has David performed at Lille?

Within just one year of joining Les Dogues, David was a key component of the Lille team that dethroned Paris Saint-Germain as Ligue 1 champions in 2021, forming a prolific partnership with Burak Yilmaz in Christophe Galtier‘s 4-4-2.

The 24-year-old struck 13 Ligue 1 goals in that campaign and has continued to go from strength to strength since, netting 15 in 2021-22 and a terrific 24 in the 2022-23 campaign.

Last season, David was responsible for 19 top-flight goals in 34 matches, and his exploits in Europe and the Coupe de France took his total to 26 goals and nine assists from 47 matches.

All in all, the 24-year-old has amassed 84 goals and 18 assists in 183 games for Les Dogues, and he was also on target twice during Canada’s run to the Copa America semi-finals.

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