Why Inter and Juventus can beat Newcastle to free signing of 24-year-old striker | OneFootball

Inter and Juventus are expected to compete with Newcastle United and other Premier League clubs for the signing of Jonathan David as a free agent next summer, and the Serie A giants have reasons to be optimistic.

Lille and Canada striker David is not expected to sign a contract extension with his club, so he’ll leave as a free agent at the end of the season.

Recent reports claim that Inter have already opened preliminary talks with the striker’s entourage, but Juventus remain interested.

The Bianconeri’s winger Timothy Weah, a close friend of David and a former teammate of the Canada star at Lille could provide vital help.

Inter and Juventus know they’ll face tough competition to sign the 24-year-old striker, scorer of 11 goals in 16 appearances with Lille this term. Not only will the salary and agent fees be pretty high, but their competitors will likely have a bigger budget available.

Newcastle and Barcelona are among the clubs monitoring David, and it’s no secret that the Premier League side’s firepower allows them to outbid many of their competitors in any transfer window.

However, the Magpies are also looking at other strikers. For example, Antoine Semenyo, linked to Spurs and Newcastle, suggests that Premier League clubs will be fighting on more than one front, potentially leaving more room for Inter and Juventus to push for David.

Top clubs around Europe have monitored the 24-year-old for several months, and David even had a chance to leave Lille last summer.

“I spoke to a couple of teams. I spoke with the coaches. But ultimately (David and his camp) made the decision to stay,” David recently told The Athletic.

“What am I waiting for? I guess now it’s easier to say. I’m in the last year of my contract. Eventually, my contract is going to run out. So then we’ll see. We’ll see what happens next year.”

David also boosted Inter and Juventus’ hopes of securing his signature next year.

“I’m open to anything,” he added.

“I think obviously the Premier League is regarded as one of the best league in the world. And for me, it’s not the Premier League or bust. I’m open to anything and every league has its challenges.”

Raised in Canada at Gloucester Dragons Soccer, Ottawa Gloucester SC and Ottawa Internationals SC, David moved to Europe in January 2018, joining Gent.

After scoring 37 goals in 83 competitive appearances with the Belgian side, David moved to Lille in a €27m deal in 2020.

The 24-year-old made his senior Canada debut in September 2018 and has scored 29 international goals in 56 appearances.