Lille to sign David, Morelos move less likely

Alfredo Morelos’ move to Lille is unlikely

Lille are on the verge of completing the signing of Gent striker Jonathan David, a move which is likely to end their interest in Rangers striker Alfredo Morelos.

David has agreed to join the Ligue 1 outfit for around £27m after Gent rejected a £23m offer last month.

A host of Premier League clubs including Arsenal and Manchester United have been linked with the 20-year-old Canadian striker but Lille have secured the player who was joint top scorer with 18 goals in the Belgian league

Lille made David their primary target following the signing of Burak Yilmaz, and with the returning Timothy Weah from a lengthy injury, Yusuf Yazici, plus highly-rated youngster Isaac Lihadji in their squad, the likelihood of Morelos swapping Scotland for France has, for now, decreased.

Jonathan David is nearing a move to Lille

Rangers boss Steven Gerrard admitted Morelos had his head turned following Rangers’ exit from the Europa League on Thursday night.

Morelos started Rangers’ last-16 second leg with Bayer Leverkusen, which they lost 1-0 (4-1 on aggregate).

“Everyone knows Alfredo (Morelos) has had his head turned,” Gerrard told BT Sport in his post-match interview. “There is no denying that. We just move forward and my focus is on the team and the players that want to be here.

“If a bid comes that the board likes and the player tells me face-to-face he wants to go, then we’ll see what happens.

“He’s professional enough to block the noise out. He hasn’t had the best of games tonight but we haven’t as a team either.

Steven Gerrard says Morelos had his head turned by Lille’s interest

“There’s no finger pointing tonight on anyone’s performance but Alfredo needs to remain focused.”

Lille also have Nanitamo Ikone and Jonathan Bamba and winger Luiz Arjuao in their ranks, and need to provide playing time to a number of first-choice strikers which will now include David.

An unnamed Premier League club has made an offer for Arjuao, which has been rejected.

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