Newcastle United enter the race for rapid attacker and former teammate of Sven Botman

Newcastle United have had a good track record when signing players from Lille in recent years.

One of last season’s standout performers Sven Botman arrived from the Ligue 1 giants for a fee of £32m in the summer of 2022. The central back played 36 times for a Newcastle team that boasted the best defensive record in the league last season and his return from injury could be a catalyst for the team to turn their fortunes around.

Going further back the Magpies have also signed French midfielder Yohan Cabaye, who starred in Newcastle’s Europa League team in 2012 and former international team mate Matheui Debuchy who was also seen as a hit on Tyneside. Eddie Howe is once again scouring the market for talent to boost his side’s hopes of Champions League qualification and it appears that his recruitment team have once again turned their attention to the Stade Pierre-Mauroy stadium.

CaughtOffside claims that the North East giants have set their sights on Lille’s main striker Jonathan David after a number of strong seasons in Ligue 1.

The 45-time Canadian international joined Lille from Gent in 2020 - arriving in the same summer as Botman. The pair lifted a Ligue 1 title together and David enjoyed a strong season with 13 goals and two assists from 37 games.

David is blessed with lighting pace and ability to run at defenders with ease. These talents have made him a nightmare to deal with and he has only built on his goalscoring form in recent years by scoring a further 39 goals across two seasons - including 24 last term.

The 23-year-old striker narrowly missed out on the golden boot last year and has remained consistent this season with five goals in 16 games. 

Such form has made him a key target for Newcastle United, although Fabrizio Romano claims that the North East giants are likely to face competition from Spurs who are in the market for a Harry Kane replacement.

Romano said: “Jonathan David is a player they’ve (Spurs) been tracking for a long time, but it’s a complicated one because of the price.”

Italian football journalist Marco Conterio believes the Magpies are now the leaders in the race for David and he claims the player is valued at around £51m which makes him around £10m cheaper then the fee paid for Isak.

The potential arrival of David would offer Newcastle a smoother rotation process when managing their attackers and like Isak, David is able to offer the Magpies an option on the wing when called upon.