KAA Gent president Ivan De Witte says Leeds United are in the race for Arsenal-linked Jonathan David, among other clubs.

Gent star Jonathan David is currently in the middle of a bit of a transfer saga, after links to Arsenal earlier in the summer.

The forward initially seemed certain to join Lille, but Gent turned down the French club’s proposal. They want €30m or more, and reportedly have offers closer to that valuation. One of those is from Leeds United, according to Gent club president Ivan De Witte.

“The contact (with Lille) came to a halt this week, but other clubs are actually interested,” De Witte said. “With much better proposals even. Including Leeds. But I explained again to Jonathan that we want him to play for us this season.”

It’s not too hard to see why Gent would want to keep David, at least for now. He scored 23 goals and assisted a further 10 for them this season, including goals against Saint-Etienne and AS Roma in the Europa League.

The 20-year-old still has three years left on his contract, and the market will probably be better for major sales next summer. So keeping him for a further season doesn’t hold the usual risks of a decrease in value.

So if Gent don’t get the offer they want, they aren’t really under pressure to sell. Personally, I find it hard to see Arsenal making that kind of offer. They did reportedly hold initial talks with the player’s agent earlier this year, however.