Everton are one of several clubs keeping an eye on Gent midfielder Jonathan David but may have to pay over €25m for him.
David has been in sensational form for the Belgian side this season, scoring 22 goals and registering ten assists in all competitions.
Indeed, this weekend saw another demonstration of his talent as he bagged his first hattrick for the club in a 4-1 win over Sint-Truiden.
Naturally, such numbers have earned him interest from around Europe and particularly the Premier League, which has always been quick to try and scoop up stars from Belgium.
Everton are among those interested, according to Het Laatste Nieuws and have him ‘on their list’ of potential targets for the summer transfer window.
However, should they wish to sign the 20-year-old, they may be forced to pay big money to do so.
Gent are more than aware they have a special talent on their hands and turned down a ‘record bid’ for his services in January.
The league’s transfer record is €25m, from the sales of Youri Tielemans and Wesley, so any suitors, including Everton, would likely have to pay considerably more than that to prise David away.
That’s unlikely to happen, though, with the club’s technical director Michel Louwagie insisting they are not interested in a sale.
“Our goal is to keep this team together, even after the summer,” he told the newspaper.
“We didn’t extend David’s contract until 2023 for nothing. We have a lot of talent. Yaremchuk was also doing well until he was injured, he’s still young. And Chakvetadze is coming back too.
“Those youngsters are an ideal mix with our experienced players. The intention is to keep it that way.
“We want to fully concentrate on the championship and the Europa League, and we don’t want to talk about transfers right now.
“It’s great that we have a top scorer like David, but we want to keep him. Of course, we won’t let such a player go for 25 million.
“We’ve already shown great things this season; we want to continue with that.”
