£25m striker linked with summer move to Newcastle remains open to Premier League switch next summer

We try not to get overly excited by transfer stories as we know how much garbage there is being reported on a daily basis but there was one Newcastle United transfer story that we were really hoping had some truth to it this summer.

Newcastle really needed to bring in another striker this summer as too much was likely to be asked of Alexander Isak with just Callum Wilson as backup given the latter's injury record.

The Magpies brought in youngster Will Osula as a third option for just £10 million rising to £15 million with add-ons, and while the Dane is banging in goals for Denmark U21s, he's yet to make a competitive appearance for the Magpies.

Before Newcastle opted for Osula, though, there were plenty of rumours that Newcastle were keen on Lille's Canadian striker Jonathan David.

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Jonathan David is still assessing his options

At the time it was reported that £25 million could have been enough to secure the 24-year-old's services which, to us, seemed like an absolute no-brainer.

However, after weighing up his options, David has decided to see out his Lille contract which expires next year and he'll re-assess his options from there, he told The Athletic.

“I spoke to a couple of teams. I spoke with coaches. But ultimately (David and his camp) made the decision to stay.

“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."

Alexander Isak and Jonathan David would be an amazing strike force to have

David then continued to admit that he's in talks over a contract extension at Lille but that a move to the Premier League is still tempting.

“Well, right now we’re speaking with the (Lille President Oliver Letang) about a possible extension. We’ll see how that goes.”

"I’m open to anything. 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.”

Suppose Newcastle manage to qualify for Champions League football, or even Europa League this season. In that case, we should be elbowing our way to the front of the queue to sign him up as he'd be the ideal player to push Alexander Isak, or even start alongside him if Eddie Howe wanted to try two up front.