Thursday, March 28, 2024

20-year-old Canada star keen to play in Premier League

20-year-old Canada starlet Jonathan David has admitted he is keen to play in the Premier League some time in the future.

The youngster, who currently plays for Genk, spoke to the Guardian newspaper about his life and career. In that chat, he mentioned his admiration for and desire to play in the Premier League.

“I want to become one of the best strikers in the world,” declared David. “That’s my goal. The Premier League is the best in the world and most competitive so obviously that is somewhere I would love to play in the future.”

David has enjoyed a very fruitful season at Genk this term, scoring 23 goals in 40 appearances for the Belgian side. He bagged his first career hat-trick in the league back in February, fuelling rumours of a big move in the summer.

David says he isn’t concerned by the rumours linking him to different clubs throughout Europe, but he wants the next step in his career to be the right one to help aid his development.

“I don’t really focus on that or think much about it,” he said about the transfer rumour mill. “Right now I’m playing almost every minute of every game and that has really helped me get to the level that I need to be.

Canada star getting interest

“I just need to take a good step where I can make sure I am getting enough time on the pitch to keep developing. I don’t want to go somewhere and just stay on the bench so it’s about taking the right step.”

Away from the transfer rumour mill, David is a key part of the group of young Canadians coming through. Alongside the likes of Bayern Munich’s Alphonso Davies, he represented Canada at the CONCACAF Gold Cup last summer.

Although the tournament ended in disappointment for the team with a loss to Haiti, David scooped the golden boot award as well as a place in the team of the tournament. He was also bestowed with the honour of being the Canadian Men’s player of the Year for 2019 – quite a feat for one so young.

It wasn’t always clear which country David would pick as he was born in Brooklyn to Haitian parents. They moved to Port-au-Prince when David was just three months old, but them emigrated to Ottawa when David was six-years-old and that’s where they would settle.

David rejected the chance to play for both Haiti and the USA, but says there was never any split loyalties.

“Canada has given me a good life and made me the man I am today” he said. “I’m grateful for that and now it is really about giving back to the country which gave to me.

“That’s why for me it was a no-brainer picking Canada and really trying to do something special with the group we have now and put the country where it needs to be.

“For all of us the target is the World Cup in 2022, which I think we have a great chance of qualifying for. It would be amazing to play on home soil in 2026 but we know that is in the future.”

I for one would love to see Canada reach the 2022 World Cup, as would I like to see David playing in the Premier League. This is the second time I’ve written about this lad and each time I read his words, I am more impressed by him.

He has a wise head on his young shoulders and clearly has a strong set of trusted advisers, be it friends or family, around him. Add to all that a killer like mentality in front of goal and you’ve got the makings of a cracking player. I wonder if he fancies Newcastle…

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