MOT View: Big-money striker transfer claim from Nixon should make Leeds fans very excited
The saga of Jonathan David’s transfer to Lille – that was eventually concluded on Tuesday – held a lot of interest for Leeds United fans.
The Gent chairman had said that Leeds had submitted a better offer than one from Lille that had been rejected.
However, it became apparent that the player himself was fixated on a move to the French club – and he got his wish.
Leeds United will move on to other targets and players who want to play for the club.
But the revelation that came out after the transfer is hugely exciting for Leeds fans.
We first heard that Leeds had bid a huge £31.4m for David from our friends at stats site All Stats Aren’t We. That was way back at the end of July.
Belgian outlet HLN repeated the news on Tuesday but, interestingly, the part about the huge Leeds offer was taken down later in the day.
Get French Football News added more meat to the story, saying: “The closeness between Leeds United owner Andrea Radrizzani and Belgium’s most powerful agent, Mogi Bayat, led to the Whites believing that a major coup in the signing of David was possible this summer.
“Radrizzani and Bayat are collaborating on the possible acquisition of Serie A club Genoa and Bayat has a long history of trying to convince Leeds to buy players that he has links to, notably Laurens de Bock.”
And The Sun’s Alan Nixon claimed of Leeds, “The David interest was real” and added, “So you have that level of cash for a forward”.
The David coup failed but that was down to the player.
What’s really exciting for Leeds fans is that the club was willing to spend £31.4m on a striker, while also chasing a deal for Ben White hard. Leeds had two bids rejected, the last one totalling £22m. And they haven’t given up – the latest reported bid is £30m, also rejected by Brighton.
It seems that the money is there for the right players – that’s £61.4m on just two players.
With David a Lille player, that’s the real story here and one that should excite all Leeds fans.
In other Leeds United news, ‘I’m told…’ – Phil Hay delivers very positive Leeds update on Jean-Kevin Augustin