“If you had one shot or one opportunity to seize everything you ever wanted in one moment … would you capture it or just let it slip?
The opening lyrics of Eminem’s 2002 hit “Lose Yourself” could just as
easily be used to sum up the situation of Jonathan David. For what has seemed to be an eternity, David has been waiting patiently for the opportunity to play for one of the biggest clubs in world football. But so far, now that he’s finally gotten that chance, he’s letting it slip.
Born in Brooklyn, David left the United States as a baby and moved to his parents’ country of Haiti, only to head to Ottawa at the age of six. It was here in Canada where David polished his skills and eventually earned a move to Belgian side Gent, where he racked up 37 goals and 15 assists in 83 appearances. These stellar displays attracted the attention of French side Lille, who paid a reported €30 million for his services, making him the most expensive Canadian transfer to date, and the first Canadian to play in France.
Whilst he didn’t quite pay off his price tag in terms of transfer revenue, he did pay it off with his performances on the pitch. David emerged as one of the finest players in Ligue 1, racking up 109 goals and 30 assists in 232 appearances for Les Dogues and becoming their third-time all scorer. And after a sensational season that saw him become his country’s all-time top goalscorer and win the 2024–25 CONCACAF Men’s Player of the Year award, it was only natural that he would have a plethora of interested suitors lining up to sign him on a free transfer.
Despite attracting from interest from the likes of Napoli, Roma, Inter and Tottenham Hotspur, it was Juventus who won the race for him on July 4. They signed him to a contract through June 30, 2030, agreeing on commissions and a bonus-signing of €12.5 million payable in three seasons, as well as an annual salary around €6 million plus €2 million in possible bonus payments per season.
Having already made his mark in Belgium and France, all signs pointed to David becoming the next Bosman transfer to flourish at La Vecchia Signora after the likes of Adrien Rabiot, Sami Khedira, Paul Pogba, Fernando Llorente and Andrea Pirlo. Instead, it’s been slow going for the Canadian striker in his first few months in Italy.
After a promising start that saw him score in the season-opening win against Parma and assist in the third matchday against Inter in the Derby d’Italia, David has made just two goal contributions — both coming in Juve’s last two UEFA Champions League matches against Bodø/Glimt and Pafos. But whilst he’s found the back of the net vs. his recent Cypriot and Norwegian opponents, he’s having a tough time asserting his presence against Italian opponents. This is concerning for not just Juve fans, but Canada fans, who are counting on David to lead them to their first-ever World Cup point next summer.
“We’ve all been heavily aware of what Jonathan David has been doing in European football for a while now, and Canada manager Jesse Marsch is extremely fortunate to have so much quality between him and Tani Oluwaseyi,” stated MLS veteran Brian Dunseth. “I remember so much pressure being placed on Cyle Larin’s shoulders, and then David popped up. He’s like what Folarin Balogun is for the USMNT — people in Canada look at David’s consistency of his ability to be in the right place at the right time, especially in big matches.”
“Everyone talks about his player profile like athleticism, speed, strength, but I look at his intelligence. I just think he’s so smart with the way that he plays, with the way that he runs the line, how he’s able exploit these massive defenders and tactically smart defensive shapes, how he continuously finds these seams and these moments where he’s getting on the end of balls. Obviously, anytime that you’re a goal scorer who joins Juventus, you’re going to deal with an insane amount of pressure. The hope is for Marsch is that David will be finding more consistency in front of the net, fully fit, healthy, sharp, not carrying any niggles, and is ready to lead the line for Canada for the FIFA World Cup.”
It’s obvious that David is struggling to adjust to life in Italy — the question is, why?
First off, competition. David has gone from a club at Lille where he was THE first name on the team sheet, where he was expected to stand up and deliver the goods week in week out, where he didn’t have to worry about someone taking his spot. He’s gone from Lille to Juventus, where he’s found a striker competition that is perhaps more akin to a pitcher rotation in baseball than something from the footballing realm.
Dušan Vlahović was expected to leave in the summer but ended up remaining at Allianz Stadium, whilst Loïs Openda joined from RB Leipzig on deadline day. This has resulted in David struggling to gain the regular minutes that he’s needed for his upward development, with the Canadian forward shifting from the starting XI to the bench. Vlahović suffered a significant adductor muscle injury on November 29 in a 2-1 win vs. Cagliari, which looks set to keep him out until at least March.
David replaced Vlahović in attack in the following match but failed to establish himself, being held to 0 shots and winning 1 of 5 ground duels before making way for Openda in the 74th minute of their 2-0 win vs. Udinese in the Coppa Italia. Both Openda and David occupied the bench as Luciano Spalletti opted to go without a natural center forward in their trip to Napoli two Sundays ago, with David returning to the XI and finding the back of the net in Turin vs. Pafos.
Juventus were able to hold on for a hard-fought 1-0 victory at one of the top sides in Serie A in Bologna, who are coming off a magical two-season spell that has seen them finish fifth and win the Coppa Italia. As a result, Juve have moved to fifth in the Serie A table, one point above Bologna and seven behind league leaders Inter.
But whilst Spalletti’s man managed to come away with a valuable victory, David once again failed to establish himself as the first-choice 9 during his hour-long appearance; three minutes after coming off for Openda, David watched from the bench as substitute Juan Cabal scored the sole goal of the match.
David failed to win a single one of his seven duels, whilst he also failed to register a single shot. As Juventus prepares for a potentially season-defining match-up against Roma, Spalletti has a real headache as he looks to decide between 1) David 2) Openda 3) none of the above.
As he approaches 26 years of age, Jonathan David should theoretically be establishing himself as one of Europe’s top strikers and add to a record that has seen him score 149 goals and 46 assists in 336 senior club appearances, as well as 37 goals and 20 assists in 73 appearances for Canada, but instead, he finds himself under increasing scrutiny at the heart of Juve’s attack. The clock is ticking: if David fails to use these next few months to his advantage and rediscover his goalscoring form, then Juve may be inclined to cash in on him in the summer and splurge for a new striker.
It has been five years since David last changed clubs after trading Gent for Lille. Similarly to his Juve spell, he got off to a slow start, failing to score in his first 10 matches before bagging a goal and an assist vs. Lorient, followed by a goal vs. Monaco two weeks later.
David would have to wait another six weeks before returning to the score sheet, but this time, he parlayed that into some positive momentum and emerged as a pivotal figure in Lille’s attack. David struck up a superb partnership in attack alongside Burak Yilmaz, scoring 13 goals and 5 assists in 48 appearances and leading Lille to their first championship in a decade, putting a temporary end to Paris Saint-Germain’s dynasty and proving that: It’s not how you start, but how you finish.
Can David turn around his fortunes after a slow start to life in Piedmont? Both Juve and Canada supporters will be hoping so as he gears up for what looks to be the most consequential tournament of his entire career in North America next summer.
