West Ham United know how it feels to see the ship sail on the club’s hopes of bringing one of the most prolific centre-forwards in European football to the Premier League.
Jonathan David confirmed he will leave Lille on a free transfer this summer after another 25-goal season in French football.
It is fair to say, however, the West Ham fans are not holding their breath awaiting the New York-born Canada international’s arrival at the London Stadium.
The feeling is that, after a season in which he exploded on the Champions League stage while inspiring famous wins over Real Madrid and Atletico, the Lille talisman may have moved out of West Ham United’s reach even if Jonathan David’s camp are impressed by Graham Potter’s plans in South London.
One year after West Ham pulled out of talks to sign David due to the fees required by his agent, per The Sun, is the one-time Ligue 1 champion set to follow in Viktor Gyokeres’ footsteps?
Blossoming into a truly elite number nine while slipping through The Hammers’ grasp?
Darren Bent ‘not surprised’ West Ham looked at Viktor Gyokeres
The door was wide open for West Ham to sign the then-Coventry City talisman during the summer of 2023.
Viktor Gyokeres even appeared to flirt openly in David Moyes’ direction, only for The Hammers to stand idly by as Sporting Lisbon shook hands with Coventry on a £17 million deal.
Two years, 100 games and a scarcely-believable 95 goals later, Gyokeres could be on his way out of the Portuguese champions-in-waiting for closer to £60 million amid interest from a who’s who of European powerhouses.
Now, former England striker Darren Bent can understand why Gyokeres caught West Ham’s eye a few years back. While his emergence as a truly world-leading centre-forward may appear to have come out of the blue, the one-time Brighton youngster was pretty prolific during his time in the Midlands too.
But with the ship having long since sailed for West Ham, should Jonathan David go on to notch 30-a-season for Napoli, AC Milan or Chelsea, that pang of regret will feel all too familiar.
“Before people go, ‘yeah, but he is in the Portuguese league, how strong is that league after Darwin Nunez [shone at Benfica]?’, in the Champions League, he’s got six goals in eight games,” Bent argues, speaking on talkSPORT [15 May, 5pm].
“Sometimes, it takes time to blossom. I think the last couple of years at Coventry kind of gave him that belief.
“I am not surprised [West Ham looked at Gyokeres when he played for Coventry].”
Gyokeres tipped to thrive where Liverpool’s Darwin Nunez failed
The high-profile struggles of Darwin Nunez at Liverpool have done little for the reputation of Portugal’s top strikers. Moving to Anfield for an initial £64 million, the madcap Uruguayan has contributed only five goals to Arne Slot’s title-winning machine.
Yet, Nunez’s record of a goal every 1.7 games at Benfica is far inferior to Gyokeres’ 1.05 average at Sporting.
Former Aston Villa, Tottenham and Sunderland poacher Bent is convinced that, while Gyokeres’ numbers may drop a little in a more competitive league, his seasonal tally of 52 from 50 matches is a clear guarantee of quality.
“I don’t think you can scoff at 52 goals, I don’t care what league you are in. He’s got more goals than games played!,” Bent adds.
“But the Champions League is I think why [he deserves a move to an elite club].”
Receive a digest of our best West Ham content each week direct to your mailbox
