HALIFAX, Nova Scotia – For a brief moment, Jonathan David presents the illusion that he is distracted.
Sports highlights programs are being played on televisions above him in a hotel lobby. David’s eyes — and attention — seem to quickly dart back and forth between the questions being asked of him and NBA highlights, including that of fellow Canadian star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
In the NBA MVP Gilgeous-Alexander, David, who is Canada’s all-time leading goalscorer, sees “someone who is confident, someone that’s very at ease, and someone who knows his game.”
David flashes a cheeky grin, his default setting.
Turns out, the uber-relaxed David might not be distracted at all. In describing Gilgeous-Alexander, David could also be describing himself in the middle of the most important summer of his career.
David has been inspired by the spectacular season of Gilgeous-Alexander. (Matthew Stockman / Getty Images)
David knows exactly who he is and what he is capable of. The intelligent forward scored 109 goals in 232 games, across all competitions, for Lille.
After seeing out his entire five-year contract at Lille, David will leave the Ligue 1 side on a free transfer. When The Athletic last spoke with David in November, when and where he would move was still up for debate.
Now, just the last part of the equation remains to be seen. Even as questions, rumors and reports about David’s next club swirl like gale-force winds around him, the forward’s built-in sense of calm helps him avoid distractions.
“I’m just like that, and it’s hard to change,” David told The Athletic in a one-on-one interview during Canada’s training camp. But David knows what he wants from his next club.
“I want a club with ambition that wants to do something,” David said. “Obviously, I would love to fight for titles, to win titles. A team that’s competitive, that has ambition, really, with a good sporting project.”
His time in France certainly prepared him to handle challenges. Over the last 13 Ligue 1 seasons, Paris Saint-Germain has only failed to win the title twice. One of those seasons was 2020-21, when David scored 13 goals to help propel Lille to just their fourth-ever French first division title in their now 80-year existence.
David will leave as the French club’s second-leading goalscorer. But it is the title he won, not the constant goals he scored, that he is proudest of.
“In a league with (Paris Saint-Germain), that is so difficult to do,” David added.
David left Lille on good terms. He took his time in front of the Lille fans that welcomed him in. He did what he felt was right.
“Anywhere you go, you never want to leave on bad terms. But especially because I had five great years there, really enjoyed my time there, there was no reason to leave on a bad note, even if I’m leaving on a free (transfer),” he said. “So, why not?”
Off the field, the five years in France after arriving from Belgium’s Gent were the most important of his life, until now.
“I became more open,” David said of how he grew off the field. “In Belgium, I was still young and more reserved. But as the years went on in Lille, being a guy who lasted as long as I did, I learned to be comfortable and to be open.”
David emerged as a true standout for Ligue 1 side Lille. (Sameer Al-Doumy / AFP via Getty Images)
What happens next could define David’s career.
Ligue 1 is one of the best leagues in the world. But there will be an increase in quality of competition and strength of defenders he will face as he graduates to the next level of European leagues.
If David continues to score with regularity at his next stop, he will no longer be considered Europe’s next great forward-in-waiting, but instead will rightfully take his place among the world’s best.
He wants to answer the questions about what he is capable of with a career-changing move.
“It’s exciting,” David said of his next move. “I don’t know what the future is going to look like, but I think it’s exciting to just know that you’re going to have a new challenge.”
David has been linked with two clubs in particular lately who could indeed present challenges. And he answers two questions about those clubs succinctly.
Does he have an agreement with Serie A champions Napoli, with whom he has been linked?
“No.”
Does he have an agreement with Serie A side Juventus, with whom he has also been linked?
“No.”
David smirks slightly at the questions. He is not a wide-eyed young forward anymore, no longer naïve about the soccer world. David knows, as any seasoned veteran would, what many around him are interested in: what comes next.
On Napoli, David said: “It’s a club that just won Serie A. And I’m guessing they don’t just want to win Serie A one year and say, ‘OK, we won, that’s it.’ Obviously, it’s a club that’s ambitious, that’s going to play in the Champions League.”
On Juventus, and the pressure that could come with playing for one of the world’s most well-renowned clubs, David, not surprisingly, remains calm.
“I think anywhere you go, there’s always pressure to perform every week, there is the pressure to keep your spot, pressure from the supporters, because obviously you have to win every game. There is always pressure anywhere you go,” David said.
Napoli and Juventus might not be the clubs who emerge in positions to swoop him up in a few weeks, or the club he eventually signs with.
But Serie A could fit someone Canada head coach Jesse Marsch once called “the most intelligent player” he’s ever coached.
David’s efforts for Canada have delighted national team coach Marsch. (Shaun Clark /ISI Photos /USSF / Getty Images for USSF)
“When I watch Serie A compared to, say, the Premier League, the (latter) is just faster tempo, more up and down, faster. And Serie A can be like that, but it’s more tactical. It’s more like a chess game in a way,” he said.
David insisted there is no set timeline on when he will decide upon his next club.
“But I obviously want to get something done before pre-season starts so I can get settled and have that pre-season time with my team,” he said. “But apart from that…”
David said there is a chance he could still play for Canada at the Gold Cup, depending on which club he signs with. Should he sign with a club playing at this summer’s Club World Cup – Juventus is one of them – his Gold Cup participation would be in doubt.
It is one of just a few decisions left for David this summer that will change his career.
“Every year he scores goals and just keeps doing that, since he’s been 15,” fellow Canadian forward Cyle Larin said.
“And, as a striker, it’s not easy to do that every year. Things change, teams change, but it’s just amazing and I think he deserves it rightfully. He comes (to Canada camp) and always puts in his best effort, very professional, and I think he deserves it.”
They are decisions that he is fully focused on and can deal with the only way he knows how: with an unyielding sense of calm and, naturally, excitement.
“Anything can happen, you never know what can happen,” David said of his future. “You just have to be prepared for anything.”
(Top photo: Olivier Chassignole / AFP)