CHELSEA are reportedly ready to rival Manchester United and Arsenal in the race to land Gent’s £20million striker Jonathan David.
The Express claim that the Blues had sent a scout to watch the 20-year-old score in their Europa League exit against Roma.
Premier League champions-elect Liverpool are also keeping tabs on him alongside United, Tottenham and Leicester City.
The Canada international has enjoyed a stunning season at the Belgian outfit, netting an astonishing nine goals in his past SEVEN league games.
Useful everywhere across the frontline, David – who was born in New York – moved to Gent in 2018 from Ottowa Internationals.
Chelsea boss Frank Lampard has already made bringing in a new striker imperative for the Blues in the summer following their struggles this season.
Leading man Tammy Abraham has been dogged by an ankle injury since January and has been struggling through the pain barrier.
In his absence, both Olivier Giroud and Michy Batshuayi have failed to consistently impress with a lowly seven goals between them and are both expected to leave Stamford Bridge this summer.
And Chelsea have since been linked with moves for RB Leipzig hitman Timo Werner as well as Lyon star Moussa Dembele.
Meanwhile, David’s agent Nick Mavromaras has already dealt a huge blow to Arsenal’s chances of signing his client this summer.
He told Het Laatste Nieuws: “Without a doubt: Jonathan is ready for the next step.
“Gent has boosted his career, the club did a lot for him. I understand that they would like to keep him longer, but Jonathan wants to go ahead.
“The Belgian league is fantastic for young players, but the moment for the next step arrives and this will come in the summer.
“His final target is to play for one of the five best clubs in the world. But for now, we have to stay humble. The next step in his career can’t be too big.
“For example, Arsenal. There we speak about the top five in the Premier League.
“The next step has to be an intelligent one. There, this would possibly be a step too big at the moment. The whole package has to be right. An intermediate step can be better sometimes.”
