Everton and Leicester City reportedly want Gent goal-machine Jonathan David in the Premier League – will Carlo Ancelotti or Brendan Rodgers win the race?
Sven Kums’ record is hanging by a thread.
Thanks to an £8.5 million move to Watford in the summer of 2016, a former Belgium U21 international etched his name into the history books to become the most expensive export in the history of KAA Gent. But, by the time the summer transfer window slams shut at the end of August, Kums will have slipped to second place.
With Jonathan David scoring goals for fun, Canada’s answer to Erling Haaland has scouts from all over Europe flocking to the Ghelamco Arena. Everton, Leicester City and Arsenal are interested in a prolific 20-year-old, according to Jeunes Footeaux – though they are not alone.
And with an £18 million price-tag on his head, David looks almost certain to obliterate the fee that took Kums to Vicarage Road four years ago.
Not that the ex-Hornets midfielder, who returned for a second spell at Gent in August, is suffering from a bout of bitterness. Kums is simply thrilled to be sharing a pitch with the most talented footballer in Belgium right now.
“Well, Jonathan, he’s a phenomenon!” Kums told Voetbal Krant after David’s fired a clinical hat-trick past Sint Truiden last weekend.
“If you look at how he scores that third goad, he always stays that calm. He is an introverted boy, very modest too.”
That stunning treble, capped by a glorious third which left the visiting defence bamboozled, took David three goals clear of Dieumerci Mbokani in the race for the Jupiler League’s Golden Boot.
In all competitions, a man who is rivalling Bayern Munich’s Alphonso Davies for the tag of Canada’s biggest rising star, has 22 goals and 10 assists to his name. No wonder he is nicknamed the ‘Iceman’.
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