Departing Lille striker Jonathan David could offer Everton a transfer alternative to Ipswich Town's Liam Delap this summer
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Jonathan David and Liam Delap have both got admirers at Everton as the club prepare to move to their new stadium
Jonathan David and Liam Delap have both got admirers at Everton as the club prepare to move to their new stadium
Everton have already got Liam Delap “to sign” but if the in-demand Ipswich Town striker ends up going elsewhere this summer, then Jonathan David remains a high-profile name in the frame that would cause a few Carlo Ancelotti-esque raised eyebrows as the Blues look to upgrade their attacking options. Canada international David has said he will leave Lille this summer amid links to several Premier League clubs.
The 25-year-old’s contract expires this summer and posting a video on his Instagram page, he has said: “Every story has a beginning and an end. I wanted to tell you myself that, after many years at the club, it is time for me to say goodbye.”
Having joined Lille from Belgian club Gent in 2020, David helped Lille to win the Ligue 1 title in his first season, and has netted 109 times in 231 matches for them, including 25 in 48 games this term. His reported suitors include Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United but also West Ham United but if the Hammers are in the frame, then why not Everton?
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Delap of course produced a spiky performance at Goodison Park as many in the home crowd called for his dismissal after he sent Jarrad Branththwaite flying with a wild challenge, moments after he and Jake O’Brien were both booked for a clash by the corner flag, but following the full-time whistle, Evertonians had coaxed the 22-year-old to cross the road from the Main Stand reception to enter the house at 37 Goodison Road and add his signature to the many others that adorn the wall in the hallway.
It remains to be seen whether The Friedkin Group will accept a ‘contract’ made out on a roll of anaglypta, but the Blues’ interest in a player who has enjoyed a breakthrough season is well-documented with David Moyes having proclaimed on the eve of the Suffolk outfit’s visit: “He would be one who we would certainly have an interest in… we would certainly be interested if he was interested in us. That’s for sure.”
Everton acknowledge that with a £30million relegation release clause, Delap will be a man in demand but unlike some of his other potential suitors, they would be in a strong position to sell him a dream where he would be the main man who they could build a new-look team around. The same would apply for David, who as a Bosman-style free transfer, would be even more accessible from a financial point of view with Moyes having stated in February that when it comes to PSR the Blues have got one more bill to pay “and then hopefully that’s us in the clear.”
The player, who was born in Brooklyn, New York, but moved to his parents’ country of Haiti as a baby before settling in Canada aged six and being raised in a French-speaking community in east Ottawa, has been on the radar for both Everton’s manager and the club’s new owners for a prolonged period. Moyes was keen on David during his time at West Ham United while an article from Give Me Sport in November last year – some six weeks before the completion of their takeover was announced – claimed The Friedkin Group wanted to sign him with Blues scouts having been hugely impressed.
With the move to the new 52,888 capacity stadium that will enable Everton to play in front of the biggest regular crowds in their history, there is an appetite to make a splash in the transfer market this summer. An article in the i paper on March 25 stated that the Blues are keen to take the squad up “several notches.” with on insider quoted as saying they are prowling around players that “would surprise you.”
In April, the Financial Times stated that the move to Bramley-Moore Dock will generate an additional £60million a year for Everton in matchday revenue. Speaking on his first week at the club, new chief executive Angus Kinnear said: “I think now, if you look at the clubs that are really competing at the top of the Premier League and the top levels of Europe, most of them have one thing in common, and that’s that they have a world-class stadium.
“The benefits are twofold; one is the revenue that the stadium can generate, and we want to take that revenue we can enjoy from more supporters coming to see the team and more different types of events that we can host at the stadium and reinvest it into the squad and create that cycle of more supporters bringing more on-pitch talent, and better results. Also, what I’ve seen, it can be a broader catalyst for change, it can raise the ambitions for the whole club.
“I think it will change our position in world football, and I think it will change the perception of players who want to join the club. I think it will help in our recruitment efforts.”