Jonathan David transfer bid made as Newcastle United rivals try cheeky January move

One of Newcastle United's rivals to sign Jonathan David have had a cheeky bid to sign the Lille goal machine knocked back.

Chronicle Live understands that the Ligue 1 club have been approached by clubs who have attempted to get a deal done now for the 25-year-old. However, an offer - believed to be around £10million for David - was swiftly rejected by Lille.

Given Lille could net £40million for qualifying for the Champions League this season, club president Olivier Létang feels that the value of having David on board between now and the end of the season outweighs any risks of failing to qualify for Europe's premier competition.

Although, it has been accepted that David will definitely leave Lille this summer and despite slight talk of a new contract offer, he will be free to pick his club in June. Chronicle Live reported on January 21 that the Magpies were represented by a high-level club employee in the stands for Lille's 2-1 victory in Ligue 1 over Nice - since then we understand Newcastle have checked out another Lille game.

Of course, the meticulous Newcastle head of recruitment Steve Nickson will have had more on his agenda from his trip to France and there are a number of clubs keen on David including Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal. The rival who bid this month has not been named by those at Lille - but Chronicle Live has learned it was not Newcastle.

David has already stated that he doesn't feel like a move mid-season would be the best idea for him. The forward said: “It’s not like the beginning of a season where you have a pre-season, you get to know your team-mates, you have time to gel. In January, things are very hectic. It’s about right now. It’s tougher.”

David has 101 Ligue 1 goals in just 213 matches and, understandably, is the type of forward that Newcastle fans would love to see signed up. The prospect of Chelsea and Arsenal offering higher wages and Champions League football could make it a tough deal to do while there is also interest from Barcelona, the club David supported as a boy.

Speaking about his next move, David said last year: "Barcelona was always the team I grew up supporting. When you grow up supporting a team, it's your dream to play for them. I think obviously the Premier League is regarded as one of the best leagues in the world. And for me, it's not the Premier League or bust. I'm open to anything and every league has its challenges."

What has emerged in the last week or so is that some big Premier League hitters are attempting to get to the front of the queue to be ready for the moment David's contract expires. Last week Eddie Howe stated that Newcastle are getting the scouting work done regardless of their PSR woes which look set to hold them back.

Howe told Chronicle Live: "I have always said we have to do the work. So we have to prepare as if we can (sign players this month). That is the best way to be. We have done the work and we know what we potentially would do. We know what positions we would potentially recruit in. It's not for me to talk here.

"It is just so that everybody knows that the work has gone on. Otherwise, you lose track of the market and you lose track of players. You lose valuable knowledge that we may need in the future. We have done all the work we need."