Jonathan David finally looks set to leave Lille.
The 24-year-old moved to France in 2020 having caught the eye in Belgium while turning out for Gent. His 30 goals across two seasons while playing a variety of positions as a teenager made him hot property across Europe.
He was linked with a host of clubs, with Liverpool reportedly keen on the American-born Canada international, but, to the surprise of many, it was Lille who signed him in a deal believed to be worth €30million. The Reds instead opted to bring in Diogo Jota.
It was a steep fee for a player with no experience in any of the top five European leagues, but Lille do have a proven track record of nurturing talent. They clearly felt they could develop David and, in turn, potentially double their money.
During his first season with the Lille, he helped the club win Ligue 1. David notched 13 goals, finishing the campaign with 11 goals in 18 appearances. This included match-winners against Marseille, Paris Saint-German and a goal in the 3-2 win over Lyon. By no means was he a passenger for this title win, he more than played his part in the team’s success.
He built on that in the following season, though Lille could only claim a 10th-place finish. David found the back of the net on 15 occasions that term. The 2022/23 campaign really saw the 46-cap international explode though with him finishing with 24 goals. He was responsible for 37% of Lille’s goals that season as Les Dogues finished fifth.
His exploits in the penalty area didn’t go unnoticed. Spurs were reportedly keen on him succeeding Harry Kane. Chelsea wanted him to bolster their attack. Manchester United allegedly viewed him as the striker to knit their forward line together. He remained in France though and, at the time of writing, he’s already registered yet another +15 goal haul in Ligue 1 (23 in all competitions).
He was linked with Aston Villa in January with the Villans looking to add to their ranks ahead of a Champions League push, and Lille were reportedly weighing up moves for strikers. David was even asked about his future just after the turn of the year, to which he responded: “I think I’ll finish the season with Lille and we’ll see what happens after that.”
All of the noise around David seems to suggest he is going to depart this summer despite having one year left on his deal. He’s almost backed Lille into a corner as the French side know they either sell him this summer and recoup some, if not all, of the €30million they spent on him or they lose their No.9 on a free in 2025.
And if this is to be his final season with the club, he’s doing a good job putting himself in the shop window. Across 2,125 minutes in the top-flight this term, David has racked up an Expected Goals haul of 16.1 and an Expected Goals on Target total of 18. The latter metric suggests he’s unfortunate not to have more than the 16 goals he’s registered. It also highlights the fact he’s adding value to his efforts due to his placement.
You can see exactly why this is the case when looking at his shot map. A lot of his efforts are aimed towards the corners which increases the likelihood of these shots beating the goalkeeper. This is by design, of course. He’s a sharpshooter who doesn’t just look to hit the target, he looks to hit the corners whenever possible. David is also confident on either foot, which makes him even more unpredictable in the penalty area and this, in turn, makes him a greater threat. Matched with the fact he likes to take his shots fairly early, it is easy to understand why he’s such a threat. The goalscorer catches goalkeepers out with his efforts, purely because there are no telltale signs he’s about to shoot before he pulls the trigger.
Wherever he ends up, that club is getting themselves a real pocket rocket of a forward. He’s the sort to gobble up chances for a ball dominant team who just needs a penalty box poacher.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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