Lille’s Jonathan David puts himself back in shop window with timely return to form

Lille OSC slapped a €60m price tag on Jonathan David (24) last summer. The Canadian international was expected to depart, however, the asking price proved to be overly prohibitive and he ultimately remained at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy. 

After having scored 15 Ligue 1 goals in the previous campaign, the conditions seemed ripe for Lille to cash in on a striker who has sought interest consistently in recent windows. However, whilst Paulo Fonseca would have been pleased to have retained their talisman, David’s start-of-season form fell way short of expectations. Prior to the November international break, David had scored just two Ligue 1 goals and he had lost his place in the starting XI to Yusuf Yazici.

Amidst a significant downturn in form, did Jonathan David (23) and Lille make a mistake in not parting ways this summer? https://t.co/K5wj9wa4B4

Les Dogues president Olivier Létang was confident that a different version of David would return from the international break, and so it proved. 22 games into the Ligue 1 season, David now has 11 goals and in all competitions, he has 16 goals in 31 games. In Europe’s top five leagues, only Kylian Mbappé (10) has more goals than David (9) in 2024. He is a striker reborn. 

His return to form is timely. Just as it was last season, a sale is anticipated at the end of the current campaign. Many clubs will be in the market for a No.9 in the coming months, and David’s form will see his name feature more prominently on shortlists. According to Téléfoot, Chelsea, Napoli and AC Milan are all interested in the Canadian international. Should David continue his form until the end of the season, that big move will certainly be forthcoming. 

GFFN | Luke Entwistle