Why Canada Striker Jonathan David Is Juventus’ First Summer Signing

As they look to improve on last season’s disappointing results, Serie A side Juventus have secured a deal to make Canada striker Jonathan David their first signing of the summer.

Previous club Lille had allowed the 25-year-old to run down his contract and were powerless to prevent him leaving as a free agent, with a number of English Premier League clubs reportedly interested in acquiring the man who had scored 25 goals in 48 appearances last term.

With Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United and West Ham all making attempts to sign David, it is Juve who came out on top. According to a statement on their official website earlier this week, the Turin giants have signed him to a five-year contract that will not expire until June 2030.

Why Juventus needed Jonathan David

Representing quite a coup, the arrival of the Canada international fills a serious void in the Juve squad. Dusan Vlahovic was the team’s top scorer last term, managing just 10 league goals and adding five more in other competitions, while Randal Kolo Muani was second with eight despite only arriving in January.

With their strikers lacking the kind of cutting edge needed to compete at the highest levels, it should be no surprise that Juve – despite finishing fourth in Serie A – were outscored by no fewer than six other teams in 2024/25.

It was the same in the UEFA Champions League where the Bianconeri managed just nine goals in their eight League Phase outings, a tally bettered by an eye-opening 26 other teams. Things were so bad in Turin that in January, then-boss Thiago Motta felt the need to publically criticise his own strikers, as discussed in this previous column.

The need for a genuine attacking threat was clearly evident, and into that void steps a man who has weighed in with an impressive 36 goals and 20 assists in just 67 senior caps for Canada.

New Juventus striker admits love of scoring

Indeed, since emerging at Genk where he scored 30 league goals in 60 Belgian Pro League appearances, goals have flowed wherever David has gone. A €27 million ($31.56 million) move to Lille in 2020 saw him become even more deadly, bagging 78 goals across his final three seasons in France.

“As a player I love to score,” David admitted during his first press conference as a Juventus player. “I love to be in the game and find ways to combine, to get my teammates involved. My biggest strength is just finding space and being in the right place at the right time.

“I’m very excited. Every step of the way is always a challenge, so coming to Serie A is also a challenge to adapt to the league, adapt to my teammates, and to be as successful as possible.”

Meanwhile, his international manager is in no doubt as to the pedigree of the new Juve man. “There are all different kinds of strikers but in terms of pure returns, David is right after [Erling] Haaland” Jesse Marsch told La Gazzetta dello Sport.

Having also coached the Norway no.9 during his time in the Red Bull system, Marsch is speaking from experience, and clearly sees David as a deadly striker who can continue to deliver goals at any level.

That is exactly what Juventus have been missing, and now it will be up to Jonathan David to keep scoring at the same rate he always has.