Atlético presses harder for Jonathan David

Diego Pablo Simeone wants a fourth-choice forward at Atlético, and as the club has been signalling in recent movements, the name that keeps gaining strength is Jonathan David. The starting point is straightforward: Julián Álvarez remains an uncertainty, but Simeone doesn’t want to be short in the final third.

Simeone wants another option

According to Mundo Deportivo, sporting director Mateu Alemany has been active for days across several routes, many of them linked to targets from previous windows. In that picture, the paper says the club hasn’t dropped David, a Canadian striker who had already drawn interest years ago. Atlético had even moved when David’s situation at Lille suggested he could be available as a free option, but the price and competition escalated and eventually the player landed at Juventus.

A domino effect from Juventus

Now, the renewed pursuit is tied to reported plans for Juventus’ forward line. The paper says Juventus is behind Joshua Zirkzee, and that could open the door for David to move, with Atlético watching closely.

Mundo Deportivo also adds that Fiorentina tabled a loan with an option to buy proposal for Zirkzee involving the Manchester United scenario, but negotiations stalled. That could have brought Juventus back to the drawing board, and Fabrizio Romano’s take — as referenced by the outlet — would be consistent with David being closer to Atlético.

The sticking point, however, is the deal structure. Atlético previously tried a similar approach for Nicolas Jackson, also via a loan, and that would be the club’s preferred option again given the limited room to manoeuvre financially, pending how the Juventus front-line shake-up unfolds.