In the North, the days of the heroes of 2021 seem to be over. After Mike Maignan and Boubakary Soumaré a year ago, exit Sven Botman, Burak Yilmaz and very probably Renato Sanches and welcome to the new Fonseca era. At the end of a very mixed 2021-2022 season, Lille is preparing to open a new chapter. And Jonathan David seems set to be one of the protagonists.
Colossal in the final sprint for the title in 2020-2021, the Canadian international had finally stayed one more season in the north. And if the extension of his Lille adventure was not surprising last summer, his current situation raises some questions. Courted by the European gratin for many months, the Canuck is still a Mastiff. Not a mystery, however, far from it.
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Since his arrival in Lille, David has worked in six-month “cycles” and has shown himself capable of both excellent and less good. If he had started his 2021-2022 exercise with a bang with 16 goals in all competitions between August and December 2021, Jonathan David marked time in the second half of the season. The word is weak. With six “small” goals scored between January and May, the former La Gantoise trigger skated, like the rest of the Lille collective who finished in the soft underbelly in the league.
Rather comfortable with a second striker at his side, the American-Canadian also suffered from the poor form of his attacking partner Burak Yilmaz, yet formidable a few months earlier. Physically, David seemed exhausted by this last exercise where he played nearly 63 matches, selection included.
The joy of Jonathan David and Burak Yilmaz after the opening of LOSC against Salzburg, November 23, 2021 in the Champions League
Credit: Getty Images
Still waiting for “his Goliath”
The summer of 2022 was to offer him a way out. We are a bit far from that. Announced on departure, the striker is still from Lille. A finding that contrasts with the release of his agent Nick Mavromaras, at the end of December last at Radio-Canada. “For us, the objective is to finish the season in Lille, but it will be his last season there for several reasons..”
The representative had also split to quote some potential destinations for his foal. “I think the Premier League is a great option for him. I think he likes Spain a lot too because he likes the feeling of the ball and the very technical players. (…) You never know, with Paris Saint-Germain or the big Italian clubs.”
But since then, the suitors do not run the streets for the native of Brooklyn who is still waiting for an XXL challenge. Already before his arrival in Lille, the Canadian made many stables in the Kingdom salivate, in particular Arsenal, Liverpool and Newcastle. They are more measured now.
If some clubs are still following the player with interest like Manchester United or Bayern Munich, both looking for a tip, no offer has reached the desk of Lille decision-makers, at least sufficient.
The danger of overvaluing
To make matters worse, the market for attackers is still just as clogged. This off-season is no exception. The “big” seats were quickly snatched up and a month before the market closed, only a handful of clubs are still looking for reinforcements in front. They are especially very few to be able to meet the requirements of Lille to concretize the file.
Because LOSC has not changed its guideline one iota and is in no hurry to give up its jewel. Land of clearance sale for centuries, Lille knows how to make the most of its flock. This summer is no exception with the big sale of Botman to Newcastle and the future transfer of Renato Sanches. Despite the last complicated months of their young Canadian, the Mastiffs are still waiting for 50 million euros to release their center forward.
A sum that few teams can afford to spend when the transfer window is already (very) well advanced. Worse, David is almost an ‘off-market’ striker compared to other centre-forwards transferred this summer. Even the wealthy Newcastle, in search of an attacker for many weeks, is reluctant to advance pawns in the file.
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The heat of the North to find colors?
With a current contract until 2025 in the north, Jonathan David has time to recover his health. A coast on the transfer market, above all. Because if the talent of the Canadian is phenomenal, it will take a new full season with the Mastiffs, his third since his arrival, to “redo the icing”. And who could allow him to join the high-level team he covets so much.
The arrival of Mohamed Bayo should also be good for Jonathan David. But it is above all the appointment of “offensive” Paulo Fonseca who could offer a new life-saving breath to the center forward. The first outings in preparation are proof of this and the Portuguese explained “be happy” with the Canuck, scorer and / or incisive during each of his appointments.
Moreover, with a World Cup looming at the end of the fall, the first for Canada since 1986, David seems pumped up and could land in Qatar with a knife between his teeth. Pedigree to restore, courtiers to (re) seduce, “LOSC to wear”, all the planets therefore seem aligned to see Jonathan David again on the hexagonal lawns. We mustn’t forget either that the “kid” from Brooklyn is only 22 years old… But on the market everything goes very fast, sometimes too much.
Jonathan David celebrates his goal during LOSC-Brest in Ligue 1
Credit: Imago
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