Former Liverpool transfer target makes his mark with Anfield goal

Arne Slot’s side booked their place in the Champions League round-of-16 with a battling 2-1 win over Lille.

Liverpool are through to the knock-out stages of the Champions League after beating Lille on Tuesday. Arne Slot’s men continue their 100% record in the UCL but they were made to work hard for their latest three points.

The Reds took the lead through Mohamed Salah in the first half but were subsequently pegged back by Lille talisman Jonathan David, who has his own links to Liverpool.

David has frequently been cited as a potential transfer target for Liverpool. In 2020 it was reported that the Canadian was on a three-man shortlist to bolster Liverpool’s attacking options under Jurgen Klopp. Also on the list were Ismaila Sarr and Diogo Jota.

However in an interview published around that time David revealed that although he had liked the Liverpool sides of Steven Gerrard, the team under Klopp were not to his taste. He even cited “Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City, but also Southampton, Crystal Palace, Everton” as teams that he liked to watch in England, notably failing to mention Liverpool.

In the end the Liverpool hierarchy made the move for Jota and the Portuguese forward has made a big impact at Anfield. Despite suffering countless injuries on Merseyside, Jota has still provided 64 goals and 21 assists in 164 appearances for Liverpool.

However David has gone on to tread his own path in European soccer, leading Lille to a famous Ligue 1 title in 2020/21, scoring the winning goal in a decisive 2-1 win against Angers. He went on to score 24 Ligue 1 goals in the 2022/23 season and continues to attract interest from some of Europe’s biggest clubs but is yet to be prised away from Lille.

However his contract with the French side ends this summer, meaning that Jonathan David will soon be a free agent. Still only 25 he is one of Europe’s most productive goalscorers and will be hot property is he does not re-sign with Lille.

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