Leeds United are reported to have made a bid for young Gent striker Jonathan David.
If they were to pull off a deal for the 20-year-old Canadian, it would be a statement of the club’s ambition in the Premier League and testimony to Marcelo Bielsa’s pulling power.
It seems certain David will leave the Belgian club this summer, and for a record fee for a Jupiler League player.
He’s been tipped to sign for Lille, with the French club in need of a replacement for Napoli-bound Victor Osimhen. But that may not now happen.
"I have expressed my annoyance that contact has been made with Lille behind our back," Gent chairman Ivan De Witte told De Zondag. "They have made a transfer impossible because of that, it is a bridge too far.
"Contacts were stopped this week, but other clubs are still interested, with much better proposals even, including Leeds."
According to De Witte, it seems Leeds’ interest in the rising star is genuine. So, who is Jonathan David. Here’s everything you need to know...
The Story So Far
Born in Brooklyn, New York, before emigrating north at a young age, David honed his skills in Ottawa, catching the eye of coaches for Canada’s under-17s and under-23s.
Historically, Canada isn’t known as a footballing hotbed, but recent years have seen it producing more and more talented youngsters, such as Bayern Munich full-back Alphonso Davies.
Since arriving at Gent as a teenage prospect in January 2018, David has gone from strength to strength and will be looking to follow in Davies’ footsteps with a move to a major European league this summer.
He scored 14 goals in 43 appearances in his debut season at Gent, and was yet more prolific this term, notching 23 goals in 40 appearances when the Belgian season was cut short in March. At the time, he was in the form of his career, with 11 goals in his last ten starts.
Belgian outlet Sport/Foot Magazine also named him their player of the season.
Last summer, he finished ahead of the likes of Mexico striker Raul Jimenez and USA winger Christian Pulisic to finish top scorer at the Gold Cup - North America’s international competition - with six goals. He was also named in the team of the tournament and Canada’s player of the year for 2019.
Position
In Gent’s Europa League campaign this season, David consistently started in central areas, either in midfield, at number 10 or as a centre-forward.
But rather than being deployed as an out-and-out striker, David played a supporting role behind Ukraine international Roman Yaremchuk and former Huddersfield Town man Laurent Depoitre.
Were he to join Leeds, David would probably play where Tyler Roberts has featured in recent weeks, alongside Mateusz Klich in midfield and in behind the striker.
Patrick Bamford can breathe a sigh of relief, because David would likely represent a supplementary addition rather than competition for his place.
Playing style
One of the things about David that is likely to excite Leeds fans is his clinical finishing. It was something the Whites lacked last season as they sometimes made hard work of their promotion bid.
Bielsa’s side underperformed in terms of converting chances last season and
Based on “expected points” - a statistic extrapolated from the balance of quality chances (expected goals, xG) on a game-by-game basis - Leeds were on course for 114 points, 26 more than any other side, according to FootballXG.com.
David registered 9.61xG (expected goals) in his debut campaign at Gent, overperforming that by notching 14 goals, and continued at a similar rate in 2019/20. His 23 goals this season have come from just 16.02xG, according to Sport/Foot Magazine.
If he were to continue to be so clinical in a Leeds side that create opportunities at the rate they did in the Championship, he would be a considerable asset.
In terms of his playing style, he’s a confident dribbler and has a turn of pace. He’s not afraid to go on driving runs from deep and is adept at moving the ball quickly and intelligently in attacking transitions.
He’s also a diligent and enthusiastic runner and appears supremely fit. Adapting to Bielsa’s gruelling and intensely demanding “Murderball” training sessions shouldn’t be the issue that it has been for others over the past two seasons. He looks to have the stamina to cope.
