In Canadian selection, his coach John Herdman calls him "The Iceman".
Of course, Jonathan David was not born in ice.
Before arriving in Ottawa at the age of 6, he was born in Brooklyn (New York) and then moved to the island of Haiti, where his parents come from.
But this superhero nickname sums up the personality of the Lille striker very well.
At 21, the one who has always dreamed of rubbing shoulders with European football stands out with his maturity.
Sure of his strength, the biggest recruit in the history of the club (27 million euros) is gaining momentum after six shy first months in France.
On December 20, he had only played the last half hour of the Ligue 1 shock at home against PSG (0-0).
He can legitimately claim a lot more this Wednesday afternoon, at the Parc des Princes, in the 8th finals of the Coupe de France, even if the troublemaker and leader of L1 must spare his rotation as well as possible against the chain of met.
Since January, Lille supporters can indeed appreciate his talents as a finisher.
And in particular his strength of character at the end of the game, as evidenced by his double in added time against Marseille on March 4 (2-0).
Jonathan David relishes his goal in added time which gives Lille victory against OM. / REUTERS / Pascal Rossignol
His seven goals in the last ten league games did not surprise anyone at La Gantoise (Belgium).
There, too, it took a good semester of acclimatization for the North American teenager.
He was only 17 years old in the fall of 2017 when he snatched a European pro club, after unsuccessful attempts at RB Salzburg (Austria) and VfB Stuttgart (Germany).
He only knows the amateur world and his three meager sessions per week, and again, when the snow and the blizzard do not decide otherwise.
"Someone humble, who knows how to wait for his chance"
“It didn't take long for us to realize that there was something special about him.
We tested him on shorthanded opposition and he impressed us, remembers Bart Van Renterghem, his Under-21 coach.
Then, he accepted that it would take time to integrate the group A. And, that, it is Jonathan all spat.
Someone humble, who knows how to wait for his chance ”.
During this period, the technician watches over the nugget.
Living alone in his apartment, he struggles to cook himself.
“His father was worried so I took him to the college canteen one day.
But the prices were too high for non-students.
So, we managed with the staff of the first team to recover the leftovers of meals from the pros, ”he slips.
He will finally unlock his counter the following season, in August 2018. And plant a total of 37 goals in 83 games for 15 assists.
Follow in the footsteps of Nicolas Pépé or Victor Osimhen
It was with Nicolas Raskin, a teammate of the same age and a neighbor, that he spent most of his time at the time.
“Jona, he's a very calm person.
I wouldn't say shy, but it doesn't make waves.
He thinks football, that's all.
His goal is to go as high as possible.
Sky is the limit (Editor's note: Nothing is impossible)
, as he says, ”assures us the one now plays at Standard de Liège.
On the video game "FIFA", the two often played with the Chelsea team.
"To joke, we thought that one day we would meet there".
While waiting to taste, who knows, the Premier League - where one of his idols Thierry Henry shone - Jonathan David intends to follow in the footsteps of Nicolas Pépé or V ictor Osimhen.
Two other arrows passed by the Losc before joining respectively Arsenal and Napoli.
He can count on Christophe Galtier for this, who has aligned him or brought in every day of L1.
Last September, the French technician put the delay in lighting his diamond on the account of a simple overweight and a loss of muscle mass due to several months without activity.
Equally ambitious in Canadian selection
As comfortable in the area as launched far from the cages or in a role of nine and a half between the lines, Jonathan David must however improve “his head game”, points out his friend Nicolas Raskin.
His small size for the post (1.80 m) almost cost him his arrival in Belgium.
“Some people said he wasn't tall enough.
I had to defend him because signing a young extra-European costs 86,000 euros with us, it's not nothing, ”recalls Bart Van Renterghem.
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If he does not play in MLS, the North American league, Canadian fans still have something to feast on on the national team.
The "Canucks" have a promising generation, carried by the Lille (11 goals in 12 games) or the Munich side Alphonso Davies.
"We have a large pool and we are keen to put Canada back on the map," warns Zacharie Brault-Guillard. Trained at the Olympique Lyonnais and today at the Montreal Impact, the full-back shares Jonathan David's room in selection. "A simple guy who does not take the lead", he describes, but also a player "always very fair" and "who wants to be number one all the time". At the time of La Gantoise, when he did not take Chelsea on his console, Jonathan David often played in the colors of his Canadian homeland. "He told me that we should pay attention to them for the 2022 and 2026 World Cups. And I can tell you that he really believed in it", smiles Nicolas Raskin.