Bullet dodged? Chelsea & Man Utd target dropped for disciplinary reasons

Tom Weber

Updated: 3 Sept 2024 18:20 BST
4 min read

Jonathan David was dropped from Lille's game with PSG for disciplinary reasons, the club has announced.

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The Canadian striker has been one of the most interesting players in the transfer market for years. David is linked with a move to an elite side seemingly every window, but even with a just year remaining on his Lille contract, no transfer materialised this summer.

This is despite the fact that president Olivier Letang publically announced that the 24-year-old was for sale early on in the summer window. The likes of Chelsea and Man Utd have been frequently linked with the striker, but no concrete offer was made.

Liverpool recently also joined the ranks of admirers, but again, they did not firm up their interest. David wasn't at his best last season, though he still managed to score a very impressive 26 goals across all competitions.

The new campaign, however, has now got off to a poor start.

David dropped by Lille

David has already featured seven times for Lille so far in this nascent season due to the Ligue 1 side competing in Champions League qualifying. In 526 minutes of football, he has scored three times and assisted twice.

However, the 24-year-old was conspicuously absent from Lille's 3-1 loss to PSG at the weekend, as were other key players such as former Newcastle attacker Remy Cabella and ex-PSG right-back Thomas Meunier.

Coach Bruno Genesio initially put this down to squad rotation after playing in Europe midweek, but a report from L'Equipe cast doubt on his assertions. It was claimed that David and company had actually been dropped for disciplinary reasons after missing a team meal.

Now, Lille have seemingly confirmed this report with an official statement. “Firstly, the club would like to clarify that the decision was taken in a concerted way and was shared between the president and the manager. This decision came after these players failed to comply with internal regulations and collective rules that are in force in our team.

“LOSC stands – as a matter of fundamental principle – for the respect of internal and collective rules; rigour and expectations are values and ingredients. Finally, equality of treatment between all players must be absolute, with no one above the club or the collective. The subject is now closed and is in the past.”