One experienced striker is set to reject an £18 million contract in Italy after reports emerged claiming that he wants a move to Manchester United.
Manchester United are intensifying their efforts to bolster their attacking options this summer following a disappointing 2024/25 campaign that saw them finish 15th in the Premier League and fall short in the Europa League final.
Goals were hard to come by, with Bruno Fernandes leading the scoring charts on just 19 goals. Amad and Alejandro Garnacho each added 11, but no player managed to break the 20-goal barrier.
In a bid to resolve their attacking struggles, United have turned to the transfer market. Matheus Cunha is has completed a £62.5 million move, while Bryan Mbeumo is also close to joining the club.
Ruben Amorim is still exploring additional attacking reinforcements, though one target is no longer available after Liam Delap sealed a move to Chelsea.
David to reject Juventus £18m contract offer
There have been links with Lille striker Jonathan David in recent months, with the striker being available for free due to his contract with the French club expiring.
According to a report from Italian outlet Corriere dello Sport, as per The Peoples’ Person, Juventus have taken the formal step of putting a contract offer on the table for David.
It is claimed that they are willing to offer him a net salary worth around £5.1 million per year, which works out at just under £100,000-per-week after tax.
The Serie A giants are also prepared to offer the striker a £12.8 million signing on bonus as he would be coming in as a free transfer.
Despite this offer, the report explains that this has been rejected as it is ‘slightly lower’ than what David’s camp have asked for and that he still prefers a move to the Premier League.
This follows on from reports which claimed that among the clubs in England’s top flight, David’s preference is United but they are not currently planning on making a move for the striker.
Should United be in for David?
It appears that United are favouring a move for Sporting star Viktor Gyokeres right now although there is no denying that securing David on a free transfer seems like smart business.
The Canadian guarantees a certain level of quality and a lot of goals – he has netted 146 times during his club career so far, including 25 last season.
However, Gyokeres has also been a goal machine in Portugal and is very familiar with Amorim and his tactics after working together at Sporting.
There are no guarantees that United can reach an agreement for this transfer, especially after the Sporting president’s most recent comments, and United should be keeping tabs on other strikers like David if that happens.
Make sure to follow UtdDistrict on X, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok to never miss out on any of our Manchester United content. Our podcast, What the Devil?, is streamed live every Thursday at 12:30 pm (BST) on the United View YouTube channel.