The key reason why Jonathan David won't be coming to West Ham | OneFootball

Lille star Jonathan David will be one of the most coveted strikers on the transfer market, because even though there will be better overall options from a goal-scoring standpoint, the Canadian international is a free agent. Hence why West Ham have been mentioned as a potential landing spot for him, even though the competing clubs are of higher status with Champions League football on the horizon.

It would be wise for West Ham to continue to be in the transfer battle and do their due diligence, because, well, you never know how the chips are going to fall. But for any West Ham fans thinking the Hammers will be among the favorites to sign David, the latest expected contractual figures will likely douse those hopes in cold water.

According to Belgian journalist Sacha Tavolieri of Sky Sports Switzerland, David, a former Belgian league player, would like a 9 million euro salary, 15 million euros in a signing bonus, and his agent would like a 10 million euro commission. Per Tavolieri, Serie A giants Juventus and Inter Milan would be willing to meet those financial expectations.

West Ham can't make Jonathan David their biggest earner

West Ham, on the other hand, may not. The reason is that while David's wage demands are actually pretty reasonable for a 26-year-old striker with a proven, 15-goal track record, they would disrupt the Hammers wage structure in a manner that could cause a ripple effect at a time when West Ham need to be cautious about spending.

Currently, the club's biggest earners are Jarrod Bowen and Lucas Paqueta at 7.8 million euros, and because Bowen ,a left-footed right winger who has scored more goals than David in the past, is more valuable and more established with the team, he'd deserve to be the club's highest-paid. David would lead to other players in the squad wanting raises, too, and it would set a new baseline for future transfer targets to want a wage similar to David.

There's also the matter that the combined 25 million euros in bonuses are not far off from David's expected total market value of around 40 million euros, and it's telling that he's made it to free agency. This indicates that the clubs like Juve and Inter that are interested in David for free were not interested in spending 50 million euros on the Lille striker.

West Ham aren't going to be the ones to break the grain in wages and bonuses for David. They aren't going to get into a bidding war for him, and if those figures are David's baseline asking price from Champions League clubs in a vacuum, then it's fair to assume that he'd take a club in the bottom half of the Premier League table, West Ham, to the cleaners at the bargaining table.