Lille's Canadian forward Jonathan David celebrates after Nantes scored an own goal during a French L1 football match. (Photo by DENIS CHARLET/AFP via Getty Images)
According to L’Equipe (h/t The Star), Crystal Palace missed out on Jonathan David in the summer. The forward eventually joined LOSC Lille for a reported €30million in August. It has also been said that the likes of Leeds and Brighton were alo in the race to sign David.
David, 20, spent time at the academies of Ottawa Gloucester SC and Ottawa ISC before joining Belgian outfit Gent’s reserve side in January 2018. He immediately put in impressive performances and got promoted to the senior set-up that summer. Since then, he has gone on to establish himself as one of the best young talents in Europe. Lille snapped him up this season and he has started out well for them scoring once and assisting thrice in 25 games.
He has also represented Canada 12 times so far at the international stage, scoring 11 goals. His impressive performances also garnered the attention of several English clubs including Tottenham, Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United, as per an older report. This shows how highly he is rated.
The Canadian has been in sensational form in the last two seasons. After racking up 8 goals and 4 assists in 2018-19, he took his game to the next level last term, scoring 18 goals and providing 8 assists and helped his side to 2nd position in the Jupiler League standings.
A highly-talented forward, David is capable of operating in both the centre-forward position and in the No:10 role. He would bring healthy competition to Batshuayi and Jordan Ayew up front, whenever needed. His versatility would definitely hand Roy Hodgson a great option to choose.
At 20, he has already shown immense potential and could only get better under appropriate guidance. He would definitely add depth to Palace’s attacking unit and could provide them with some much-needed goals. And, if he is able to continue with the good form, he could go on to be a crucial player for the club in the long run.
While prising away David could be a difficult task, given that he recently joined Lille, Palace need to try and get him as early as next summer. He is a genuine talent and bigger clubs are bound to come after him sooner rather than later.
