- 9 hours ago
What Man Utd fans can expect from Jonathan David – the bargain signing who outperformed Mbappe
Robin Bairner
- 24 Jun 2024 10:05 BST
- 9 min read
Jonathan David is set to leave Lille this summer, with Manchester United among the clubs chasing the Canada international, who promises to be one of the bargains of the summer transfer window.
Fabrizio Romano indicates that Lille are willing to accept a fee of just €25-30 million for the 24-year-old, who is entering the final year of his contract in the north of France and has made it clear that his desire is to move on.
Earlier this month, Lille president Olivier Letang backed these reports up as he said: “Leny Yoro and Jonathan David can leave the club this summer.
READ MORE: First major Man Utd summer transfer 'nearing completion'
“Both have the ‘exit voucher’ due to their contract situation.”
This is promising news for Man Utd, who are chasing a striker who can enhance their first-team options.
David, for example, would immediately arrive at Old Trafford as the strongest centre-forward on the club’s books, according to data analytics firm SciSports.
READ MORE: Premier League summer transfers 2024: All the Done Deals
STATS
Jonathan David
F (CRL)
Lille
Jonathan David
F (CRL)
Lille
It gives him a SciSkill, a score calculated using hundreds of in-game data points, of 103.0. This is the third-highest score of any player at Old Trafford behind Bruno Fernandes, Marcus Rashford and Luke Shaw.
He also has the potential to reach a score of 115.6, which would push him into the ‘key player’ bracket.
It’s worth noting, however, that Rasmus Hojlund is quickly improving. Although the Denmark striker had a slow start, his SciSkill is now up to 101.3 with the potential to reach 127.4 – more than anyone else at the club.
David outperformed Mbappe in Ligue 1 during 2023/24
David, meanwhile, finished last season as Ligue 1’s best-performing centre-forward according to SciSports, which rated him above even PSG’s Kylian Mbappe.
His particular strength was finishing, though that should perhaps not come as a great surprise given that his style of play is as a poacher.
But he is more than just a scorer. His passing and offensive positioning rated well, while he also scored highly across all of SciSports’ main defensive discipline. David’s intelligence off the ball, though, is highlighted by his defensive positioning, which he was the best striker in Ligue 1 at.
This all-round ability is, no doubt, highly appealing and would typically come with a hefty price tag.
Indeed, FootballTransfers’ algorithm, which calculates Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) based around in-game performance as well as more than 600,000 historical transfers, puts David’s valuation at €46m. This represents more than 50% more than the top-end estimate of Lille’s summer asking price.
So not only would Man Utd get a quality player if they were to sign David, they would also be getting a bargain - two things Sir Jim Ratcliffe loves.
