Lille president Olivier Letang has ruled out the French side selling star striker Jonathan David in the January transfer window, despite the Canadian forward entering the final six months of his contract.
Newcastle United are among several clubs said to be monitoring the 24-year-old as they look to bolster their forward options. Eddie Howe only has Alexander Isak and Callum Wilson as senior strikers in his squad, with Wilson yet to play this season after picking up a back injury in the summer.,
The Magpies signed youngster Will Osula from Sheffield United in August, but he has barely featured so far this term, with Howe preferring Anthony Gordon as a makeshift striker when Isak missed two games with a broken toe.
Chelsea and Aston Villa were both linked with a move for David last summer, while Arsenal have also been credited with interest, with the player now in the last year of his contract. However, speaking to RMC Sport, Lille president Letang has ruled out a cut-price January move, and hopes he can persuade the strriker to extend his stay with the Ligue 1 club.
“Jonathan’s situation is very simple,” he said. “We are very happy to have him with us. Last off-season, he had one year left on his contract. We could have qualified for the Champions League.
“When you have a guy who scores 20-25 goals per season, we weren’t hung up on selling him. We didn’t have any offers. Our position is very clear. We thought about the athlete.
“Jonathan, obviously, already has an offer to extend his contract. The ball is in his court. He will return from international duty tomorrow. We have had a lot of discussions about him staying with us. He won’t leave in January.
“He will stay with us because he is an important player. He will stay because we have goals in May. When you have a player who scores 20-25 goals, qualifying for the Champions League at the end of the season balances out a transfer that didn’t happen.”
David has spoken about his ambitions previously, telling The Ahletic: “Barcelona was always the team I grew up supporting. When you grow up supporting a team, it’s your dream to play for them.”
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