By now, the attention has been monopolized by Paris Saint-Germain, Lille and Manchester City, but former Manchester United forward Jonathan David has quietly been reaping the benefits of Lille’s new appointment, the same appointment that has helped Lille to make the perfect U-turn on its poor form under Claude Puel, whom the club rejected in favor of Frank de Boer.
That turnaround had yielded three straight wins in all competitions, and in particular the victory over Spurs, where David, seemingly picking up where he left off after giving Lille a 1-0 lead against Tottenham, showed the kind of devastating second half that saw him score twice in the 2-1 win over Spurs, showing that the former Nigeria international is finally getting back to the levels he set in 2012 when he was heavily favoured by Sir Alex Ferguson.
For David, the second half performance last Sunday was actually quite different to that first half.
“I found my dribble as effective as I always do but this time I was finding spaces and I was moving quicker,” David said to Voetbal International. “My timing was there.
“They didn’t give us the second half we deserved.”
David, 31, was never able to repeat the ridiculous feats that he displayed in both United and Rangers, but he showed some strength when he joined Lille over the summer and suddenly he’s coming to the fore with Lille.
With the form David’s showing, don’t be surprised if the former England midfielder makes his way back into Gareth Southgate’s thoughts.