Tottenham have identified a 24-year-old striker to partner Son Heung-min (32, Tottenham). Jonathan David (24, Lille) is making a name for himself in the French league.
“Spurs are currently in the race to sign David, along with Manchester United, Chelsea, and Arsenal,” reported HITC in the U.K. on Sept. 16 (KST).
Spurs are relying more heavily on Son Heung-min and Heyselisson after losing Harry Kane to “German giants” Bayern Munich just before the season.
Despite being in his 30s, Son has been playing his part. He has 22 offensive points in his last 21 games as of Saturday, and he’s been playing a key role as captain. Even the EPL’s secretariat said that “Son’s recent performances have been remarkable”.
However, Tottenham would like to bring in a new frontline attacking option to use Son as a flanker. It’s also time for a generational change and a younger ‘top’ option.
David is a player that Tottenham were already interested in last summer.
They tried to sign him for £50 million ($83.5 billion) but were unsuccessful.
David came up through the youth ranks of Hong’s current club, Belgian side Gent, and joined the first team in 2018. During his two years in Belgium, he scored 26 goals and provided 12 assists in 50 appearances in the Belgian Jupiler Pro League. Recognizing his potential, French Ligue 1 side Lille snapped him up just before the 2020-2021 season.
David thrived in France. In his first season, he scored 13 goals and provided three assists in 37 Ligue 1 games. His rise was steady. In the 2022-2023 season, he scored 24 goals and provided 4 assists in 37 league games. This season, he has played 25 league games and scored 14 goals.
The dual U.S.-Canadian citizen is also a member of the Canadian national team. After representing his country at age groups, David made his senior national team debut at the age of 18. He has a very good record. Since his debut, he has scored 26 goals in 45 A matches.
David is a very good finisher, but his dribbling ability is criticized.
While Tottenham are keen to re-sign David, they have plenty of competition. There are at least three teams, including Man United.
There’s another reason why Spurs need to bring in a frontline attacker.
There’s another reason why Spurs need to bring in a frontline attacking player: the number of clubs that could part ways with him if he’s on the radar of the Saudi Arabian league.
“The Saudi league is renewing its pursuit of Premier League stars, including Hicharisson,” the Telegraph reported on Friday.
Since last year, the Saudis have been pouring in oil money to recruit world-class stars. From Cristiano Ronaldo to Karim Benzema, Sadio Mane, N’Golo Kante, Neymar, 스포츠토토 and Neymar, they’ve assembled a world-class roster. They’ve also brought in younger players. Including Leo Neves and Sergei Milinkovic-Savic.
Still, the Saudi league wasn’t satisfied and wanted to attract more stars. Al Ahli, Al Ittihad, Al Hilal, and Al Nasr, four teams backed by the Saudi sovereign wealth fund (PIF), have been active.
Son Heung-min’s name has also been thrown around. Last summer, Saudi League side Al Ittihad made an attempt to sign the South Korean international.
However, the player had no intention of leaving Tottenham.
Spurs were also forced to sell Harry Kane to Bayern Munich, so they couldn’t afford to lose him.
Heung-min is currently in contract talks with Tottenham. “His contract expires at the end of 2025, but it is understood that talks have been ongoing since last summer,” the UK’s HITC recently reported.
Now, the Saudis appear to be leaning toward signing Hichalisson. The Telegraph reports that “Saudi clubs are expected to make offers for Hicharisson in the summer. There have been previous attempts to sign him, but interest has increased,” the Telegraph reported.