Jonathan David Accepts Chance to Rebuild European Reputation Amid Canada’s Rise in Europe

Jonathan David is on the move.

After a dismal spell that saw him score just eight goals and five assists in 57 games with Serie A giants Juventus, the Canadian striker is set to join La Liga’s Atlético Madrid on loan for the 2026–27 season, with a $25 million purchase option included in the deal.

According to Fabrizio Romano, Juventus will cover 50% of David’s salary after the two sides had explored options all summer to move David to a new club. Other clubs explored included Aston Villa, Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain before the Atleti deal materialized.

Now 26, David moved to Italy ahead of the 2025–26 season after a stellar five years with Lille in France’s Ligue 1, where he scored 109 goals in 232 games and ranked among Europe's top strikers during that spell.

At the World Cup this summer, he struggled to produce with Canada, scoring a hat trick in a 6–0 win against Qatar for his nation’s first-ever win at the men’s tournament but failing to make a difference against more formidable opponents.

While his form never came with the Bianconeri in 2025–26, he was afforded an early opportunity this season, with his final moments seeing him booed and jeered off the pitch by his own supporters after a listless 57 minutes in a 2–0 win over Parma.

Now heading to his third European club and second team in two seasons, there’s hope he can rekindle the form that saw him stand out as a Ligue 1 and UEFA Champions League star with Lille, while also hoping to get back into peak form with the Canadian men’s national team.

What Went Wrong for David at Juventus?

Jonathan David was never able to find his form with Juventus. | Marco Canoniero/LightRocket/Getty Images

Greeted as a hopeful beacon to lead Juventus back into the upper echelons of Italian and European soccer, David was never able to find his footing in Turin.

The season began as a nightmare for the club, which sacked manager Igor Tudor amid an eight-game winless run and brought in former Napoli and Italy manager Luciano Spalletti to replace him. Yet the system didn’t change drastically, and David’s struggles grew.

Throughout the campaign, he contended for playing time with Dušan Vlahović in the 3-4-2-1 formation, with the two swapping regularly and both struggling to find form. Historically, David has struggled as a lone striker and had difficulty getting into good scoring positions against stingy Italian defenses.

Jonathan David shot char — Jonathan David’s shot chart with Juventus in Serie A in 2025–26. | FotMob

In those first few months, it was common to see David receive the ball in an isolated position high up the pitch, only to be swarmed by systems that had prepared for Juventus’ patterns. The single-striker role is a spot he’s struggled in with Canada, especially against low blocks, so it was no surprise to see him fail when asked to do it in Serie A.

By the end of the season, though, he had found himself in similar scoring positions to that of his Lille days, producing 0.45 xG per 90 minutes, right in line with the seasons of 0.47, 0.67, 0.60, and 0.57 xG per 90 minutes that he showed in Ligue 1, according to FotMob. Yet his struggles shifted from getting into scoring positions to a lack of finishing, as he scored just six of his 41 shots in league play..

It didn’t help that David wasn’t Juventus’ first-choice penalty taker and the situation worsened over time, with capitulating efforts whenever he took to the pitch eventually leading to more frustration from the club, player and fanbase, and ultimately his exit.

The Chance to Rebound in Spain

Joining Diego Simeone’s attack in Madrid, David will be tasked with not only rekindling his form and helping out in an unsettled forward line that, up to this point, revolved around Julián Alvarez, who has made no secret of his desire to leave before Tuesday’s transfer deadline.

Luckily for David, Atlético Madrid have often relied on the 4-4-2 and 4-3-3 formations, two systems in which the Canadian international has thrived for club and country. While the demands may be different than the high-tempo approach of Jesse Marsch’s Canada, having support—and the potential to swap into a deeper-lying striker role—should be a better fit for David’s best capabilities.

The different system will also highlight less of David’s smaller frame, and emphasize his tactical intelligence, which Marsch has admitted makes David the “smartest player I’ve ever coached,” despite also coaching the likes of Erling Haaland, Dominik Szoboszlai and other stars in his European tenure.

David’s style won’t fire unnecessary shots from distance when there’s an option for an overlapping run, short dribble or quick pass, and those opportunities should come more often in Simeone’s setup.

At the same time, joining a team that has dominated most of La Liga will play in his favor, compared to a Juventus side which had struggled to stay in the upper ranks of Serie A and was unable to secure Champions League qualification for the 2026–27 season.

Atlético Madrid will get more chances, and if things go to plan, more of those will fall to David’s feet. Ultimately, he’ll need to improve his scoring rate, but the plan to succeed is clearer than it ever was in Italy.

Canada’s Rise in Spain, Across Europe

Nathan Saliba (left) and Jonathan David (right) have made Canada the most represented North American country in La Liga. | Fran Santiago/Getty Images

While David has been a European standout throughout his career, a move to Madrid should be seen as an upgrade to the situation he found himself in with Juventus. It also comes as Canadian players make more European moves than ever, following the World Cup co-host’s run to the round of 16, winning a World Cup game and a World Cup knockout game for the first time.

David’s introduction to La Liga follows the three Canadians at Villarreal and one at Alavés. In 2025, Tajon Buchanan moved from Inter Milan to Villarreal for more minutes and has scored seven goals in 46 games, including against Barcelona.

In January, striker Tani Oluwaseyi joined him from Minnesota United and in recent weeks, midfielder Nathan Saliba became the third Canadian to join the Spanish club, signing after one standout season with Belgium’s Anderlecht.

Villarreal CF has become the first club in the big five European leagues to have three @CANMNT_Official players in their squad at the same time.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗦𝘂𝗯𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗲. 🇨🇦 pic.twitter.com/jGzuGS5Q7T
— Villarreal CF English (@VillarrealCFen) August 25, 2026

Goalkeeping prospect Grégoire Swiderski is also on the bench at Alavés, and center back Derek Cornelius has been linked with a move to Rayo Vallecano. With six players, Canada would have a larger La Liga presence than major nations including England, Germany, the U.S. and Mexico.

Yet, it isn’t just Spain where Canadians are flocking and thriving.

This summer, striker Promise David moved from Belgium to Brighton in the English Premier League, and Liam Millar has established himself in the English top flight, scoring a winning goal against Coventry to lead Hull City to a perfect 2-0-0 start. 20-year-old center back Luc de Fougerolles made his Fulham first-team debut as well, and looks to have a spot in the Premier League roster this season after spending last year on loan in Belgium.

CLUTCH ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/3O9GvTcqaU
— Hull City (@HullCity) August 29, 2026

A step down in England, midfielder Stephen Eustàquio and winger Jayden Nelson have joined Swansea City and Bolton Wanderers, respectively, while the versatile Alfie Jones has returned to Middlesbrough’s backline and striker Cyle Larin has four goals in four games to start the season with Southampton.

And after playing just 15 minutes at the World Cup, star defender Alphonso Davies made an electrifying return to Bayern Munich’s starting lineup, posting an assist in his first full 90-minute effort since May to open the Bundesliga campaign with a 5–1 win over Stuttgart.

With the rise in Canadian talent across Europe, David needed a move to ensure his spot in the starting lineup moving forward, as the national team eyes its first trophy since 2000, either in the 2026–27 Concacaf Nations League or 2027 Concacaf Gold Cup.

Before then, however, David will have his next chance to build on his all-time Canada goalscoring record when Les Rouges battle the U.S. men’s national team, Peru and Chile in September and October.

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