Paul Mitchell has made 'significant contact' for 25-year-old striker set to be in-demand this summer as Newcastle United hopes grow

A new striker to support Alexander Isak is a high priority for Paul Mitchell to acquire for Newcastle United this summer but finding a player of the right level of quality who is also okay with the idea that they will have to fight for their place is going to be tricky.

Given Newcastle only tends to play with one striker, convincing a top-class centre-forward to join in the summer to play second-fiddle to Alexander Isak is going to be very tricky for Paul Mitchell.

Our personal favourite of the strikers linked to Newcastle recently is Lille's Jonathan David. The 25-year-old will be available on a free transfer this summer as his contract with the Ligue 1 side expires.

There is set to be quite a number of top clubs vying for his signature, with Newcastle among them.

Jonathan David would be the perfect summer signing for Newcastle United

The Magpies could potentially land one of the most exciting strikers in world football without having to fork out a huge transfer fee which would leave Paul Mitchell with more money at his disposal to address other areas of the pitch. It is, on paper, the perfect deal, but it won't be an easy one to do for all of the reasons mentioned above.

However, The Chronicle has reported this morning that Newcastle still retain hope that they can get a deal done.

While several clubs tried to lure David away from Lille in January with a cheeky bid, Newcastle resisted, but Paul Mitchell has since made 'significant contact' expressing Newcastle's interest.

Jonathan David is impressed with Newcastle United's project

The report even suggests that Jonathan David is aware of, and impressed by the project at Newcastle.

Add to that the fact that he recently spoke about being prepared to fight for his place, knowing that a place in the starting lineup of the calibre of club he's looking to move to isn't guaranteed.

If Newcastle can grab Champions League football this season, along with their cup win, it could be enough to convince the Canadian to join the project, but he has expressed a desire to play in La Liga, and there's likely to be one or two Spanish clubs in the mix for his signature.

We're not giving up hope just yet, though.