Man United make contact to sign £25m Lille ‘striker’ who plays just like Lautaro Martinez with 19-goals this season

Man United make contact to sign £25m Lille ‘striker’ who plays just like Lautaro Martinez with 19-goals this season

For Manchester United, the position has been a problem since the beginning of last season when it became clear that Anthony Martial wasn’t going to play much of a role.

Since then, Rasmus Hojlund has essentially been left on his own, which is a challenge both when he is healthy and when he is wounded.

But now that Joshua Zirkzee has been connected to United, it appears the team is genuinely exploring an addition, and a different alternative is also being explored.

Manchester United is in communication over Jonathan David’s departure It has been suggested that United may have considered an alternative due to Zirkzee’s agency requesting outrageous payments.

This is in line with a report from I News that claims Jonathan David, a 24-year-old attacker for Lille, is highly anticipated for this summer’s striker shortlist.

The report continues that United have actually already made contact with David’s representatives over a potential move, but the Red Devils will face stiff competition from Spurs, West Ham and Aston Villa to sign the Canadian international.

David is supposedly available this summer for a bargain of £25m, with Lille keen to get a fee and avoid losing him for free as his contract expires in 2025. In a bid to see this happen, Lille have already confirmed he’s for sale this summer.

United have liked the look of David for a while, and now he’s shown how good he is in two seasons on the bounce, scoring 24 goals and then 19 in back-to-back Ligue 1 campaigns.

Signing a striker like David would be an excellent move from United as he’s clearly ready for the step up and his 19 Ligue 1 goals in 2023/24 were only beaten by Kylian Mbappe who grabbed 27.

In terms of his qualities, David is a technically gifted striker who not only scores a bunch of goals but also adds 2.64 shot-creating actions per 90 while being capable of link-up play.

In terms of similar players, FBRef ranks Argentine whiz Lautaro Martinez as his fourth most similar player, which should indicate what a gem United could be about to sign.

“He’s like an iceman,” Canada coach Josh Herdman said as quoted by the official Ligue 1 website.

“He’s able to slow it right down in the box, wait for the keeper to sit down, and pick his moments. That’s a real special quality in a striker.”

David looks like exactly the kind of striker Ten Hag wants this summer to share the striking load with Hojlund. Definitely one we’d like to see happen.