Jonathan David: Lille boss admits it will be hard to keep Arsenal and Chelsea target

Jacque Talbot

• 26 Dec 2022 16:16 GMT
• 3 min read

Lille boss Paulo Fonseca has admitted it’ll be difficult to keep hold of Arsenal and Chelsea transfer target Jonathan David.

The Canadian attacker is widely considered one of the brightest young talents in Europe - and so has consequently been linked with some huge Premier League sides.

David, who joined the Ligue 1 club in 2020 from Belgian club Gent, has attracted interest from clubs like Manchester United and Milan in recent years - but at present, it is Arsenal and Chelsea who are heavily linked to the forward.

READ MORE: David the Goliath? Man Utd target Canada star as Ronaldo replacement

And now Fonseca has spoken about his player’s future with the French outfit. He said to La Voix des Sports: “It will be difficult to keep Jonathan David at the club next season. There are not many strikers with his skills and numbers in Europe… he’s just 22.

“I think top European clubs will try to sign Jonathan David.”

David has netted an impressive 41 goals in 111 matches for his current club - while he also helped Lille win Ligue 1 in 2021, ahead of the dominating Paris Saint-Germain.

The Canada international, who travelled to Qatar for the World Cup this year, also has an international record standing at 22 goals in 38 matches.

David eyed by Chelsea

Reporter Ben Jacobs recently revealed that the youngster is admired by Chelsea manager Graham Potter, who is looking for a striker- with Armando Broja injured out for the rest of the season.

The journalist tweeted: “Jonathan David is [a] forward Graham Potter, in particular, really admires. A summer move is seen by sources as more feasible, but January is possible. Lille resigned to an exit in 2023.”

FootballTransfers’ algorithm values David at €56.5million - while his contract is up in the summer of 2025.