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Manchester United may rue not signing £25m striker as hat-trick makes it seven in nine
As things stand, the idea of any Manchester United player scoring a hat-trick – let alone four in the same 90 minute stretch – feels fanciful at best.
No Red Devil has hit a treble since Cristiano Ronaldo dismantled Norwich City back in 2022.
Alejandro Garnacho has come closer than most – firing a volley over the bar against Barnsley after hitting a brace in that 7-0 Carabao Cup hammering – but the long wait for a Manchester United hat-trick goes on. 30 months, now, and counting.
Marcus Rashford’s form remains patchy despite a Barnsley brace of his own. Joshua Zirkzee, while an excellent link-man, is clearly not going to be challenging for the Premier League’s Golden Boot this season either.
Zirkzee netted on his Man United debut against Fulham but has not found the net since.
Against Tottenham Hotspur – a 3-0 defeat which could yet be the turning point in Erik ten Hag’s tenure – the Dutchman again fired a presentable chance far too close to the opposing goalkeeper.
And just to add insult to injury, the man who might have arrived in his place had United missed out on Zirkzee – ESPN report that he remained in contention right up until the former Bologna ace was signed – is hardly suffering from a profligate streak of his own.
Quite the opposite, in fact.
Jonathan David showing why Manchester United wanted him
Jonathan David has always been a rather patchy goalscorer.
Not so much eternally red hot as occasionally purple, the Lille hitman tends to score in bunches. So when David snapped a three game Ligue 1 goalless streak at the end of September, Le Havre must have known what was coming.
David had already scored a hat-trick against Le Havre in the spring, after all. And he would repeat the trick on Saturday as Lille moved to within touching distance of the Champions League places.
That is seven goals in nine starts now in 2024/25. It would have been eight in nine, too, had a selfless David not handed over penalty duties to Lille teammate Angel Gomes when the game was won at the Stade Oceane.
“It’s a shame for him,” Lille coach Bruno Genesio told reporters, feeling that David should have seized the chance to become the first LOSC player to hit four in a single match since Matt Moussilou achieved the feat in 2005.
“A quadruple is still rare in a career.”
Lille star can still join Man United for free in 2025
David, for what it’s worth, felt that Gomes deserved the chance to get his name on the scoresheet.
The newly-capped England international – Angel Gomes has been linked with a return to Manchester United after shining across the Channel – would see a tame spot-kick saved, and might not get a second chance when the next time a penalty arrives.
“(Angel) had a very good game. He deserved an assist or a goal. That’s why I give it to him,” David said during his post-match press conference. “Since he missed it, it was the wrong decision, but that’s football.
“Maybe it’s my slightly too kind side, not being selfish enough in my game. Next time, I won’t give it away!”
David, ESPN adds, would have cost Man United just £25 million in the summer.
With his contract expiring in less than 12 months’ time, the Red Devils could yet land the 24-year-old on a free transfer should a frequently misfiring outfit decide that they need further attacking reinforcements.
After signing Leny Yoro from Lille and amid those ongoing Angel Gomes rumours, Jonathan David’s return to form could be another reason for a Manchester United side starved of hat-trick heroes to cast an eye over Lille.
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