Club president says Newcastle target “will not leave in January” as new offer arrives

Newcastle’s reported efforts to sign Jonathan David in the January transfer window have taken a blow.

The Magpies have been regularly linked with a move for the Canada international, who is out of contract at Lille in the summer and in-demand after 13 goals already this season.

As things stand, he can sign a pre-contract agreement in January with a foreign club (before joining on a free in the summer) or leave during that period for a cut-price fee. However, any ambition Newcastle have of securing David this winter has been snubbed.

Lille’s president Olivier Letang has set the record straight regarding his star player’s future: “Jonathan David will not leave in January, ” he said to French outlet RMC. “We made a new contract proposal and it’s up to Jonathan now.”

Fabrizio Romano has also aggregated the story on X, formerly known as Twitter. The Italian influencer has been hot on the heels of David’s future for the past two years, regularly posting updates about the player and linking him with moves away, though none have ever come to fruition.

He posted that the “plan remains for David to leave as free agent”, suggesting the 24-year-old will not accept Lille’s contract offer and leave at the end of the season.

Newcastle are in desperate need of a striker as it’s become abundantly clear that they cannot rely on Callum Wilson, who is yet to feature this season. The former England international has been a great servant to the Magpies but injuries have taken their toll and the club have just Alexander Isak, as well as new signing William Osula, who has not started a match so far in this term.