More goals than Mbappe! Man Utd should sign David over Kane or Osimhen

Stuart Telford

• 11 Mar 2023 10:07 GMT
• 4 min read

Jonathan David pulled ahead of Kylian Mbappe as Ligue 1's top scorer on Friday. Manchester United should be trying to sign him next summer ahead of Harry Kane and Victor Osimhen.

Man Utd's need for a top striker is acute.

Cristiano Ronaldo is long gone, 26-goal top scorer Marcus Rashford does his best work from the left wing, and the chances of the club making Wout Weghorst's loan from Burnley permanent are slim to none after his return of two goals from 15 games.

A No.9 is top of their summer shopping list, and Kane and Osimhen have both been heavily linked in recent weeks and months.

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Both would cost a fortune, however. Kane's move to Manchester City broke down the summer before last with Daniel Levy insisting on £150 million for his star striker, while Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis insists Osimhen is "not for sale," as he pursues a similar fee.

United may not be strapped for cash, even before one of Qatari Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani or Sir Jim Ratcliffe buy the club from the Glazer family, but David would represent a shrewder investment than either of the above.

Affordable fee

The Canadian youngster is valued at €52.6m by FootballTransfers' in-house algorithm, but transfer sales Lille's lifeblood, they can be expected to settle for around half of the asking price Kane and Osimhen carry.

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He is also more than worth the money. David hit a hat-trick as Lille were held to a 3-3 draw by Lyon on Friday, taking his Ligue 1 tally to 19, one more than a certain monsieur Mbappe has managed PSG.

It also made David the top scorer in the 21st century, his haul now 53, three clear of one Eden Hazard, who needed 69 more games to hit the half century - even if he is a winger.

Kane is a proven Premier League striker, something David (and indeed Osimhen) is not. But as well as costing less than the competition, David is also the youngest, six-and-a-half years Kane's junior.

At 23, David could be the solution to Man Utd's No.9 problem for a generation, and they could do worse that find out.