Why Atlético are acquiring Jonathan David to complete Simeone’s attack

Atlético de Madrid on Monday agreed with Juventus on a loan move for Canada striker Jonathan David, according to multiple outlets.

First reported by Marca's Diego Pico and later corroborated by Relevo's Marcos Durán as well as the football influencer Fabrizio Romano , David will join Atlético — who held interest in him when he played for Lille — on an initial loan with a €25 million option to buy. It is not an obligatory buy clause based on appearances or other milestones, which means Atleti and Juve will avoid a standoff like the one that developed over Nico González late last season.

In addition, Juve are covering "a significant portion" of David's €11 million gross salary. That factor undoubtedly convinced Mateu Alemany to pursue this deal instead of one for Newcastle's Nick Woltemade, who appears to be on his way to Turin as David's replacement.

The 26-year-old David joined Juve just last summer following five superb seasons at Lille, where he helped Les Dogues to a Ligue 1 title in 2021 and scored 109 goals across 232 appearances in all competitions — including 77 in 135 games over his final three seasons. But David struggled mightily in Italy; he scored only eight goals in 46 appearances last season, and he was whistled off the pitch during the Old Lady's 2-0 home win over Parma at the weekend. At the FIFA World Cup over the summer, David scored a hat trick for Canada in a 6-0 win over Qatar during the group stage, but he did not score again as the co-hosts were eliminated in the round of 16.

David appeals to Atlético as a low-cost distressed asset seeking to turn his career around. The financial aspect is key given that the club still has to pay Josema Giménez and Thomas Lemar's salaries for 2026/27; according to Marca, neither player will leave Atlético this summer, meaning the club is on the hook for roughly €10 million in gross wages between them. Their refusal to leave — as is their contractual right — afforded Alemany less room to maneuver in the market.

Moreover, David's profile as a player makes it easy to see how Diego Simeone can "recover" him after a down year at Juventus. David is a fast, technical forward who combines well with others; he struggled at Juventus when he was forced into a role as a pure number nine and was asked to be a self-sufficient goal source. That's not really who David is; assuming Julián Alvarez stays, Simeone will continue to count on his compatriot to be that attacker who conjures goals out of nothing.