3 reasons behind David’s Juventus struggles

La Gazzetta dello Sport highlights three reasons behind Jonathan David’s struggles at Juventus, including sudden competition for a starting spot in attack.

David joined Juventus on a free transfer from Lille this summer and the goal on his Serie A debut against Parma in August remains the only one he scored in a competitive match for the Old Lady.

The Canada international started in the last two games against Villarreal and Milan, but made headlines for the wrong reasons, missing a big chance in each match.

Reasons behind David’s Juventus struggles

Coach Igor Tudor has rotated his strikers this term and Gazzetta argues that the sudden competition for a starting spot in attack is one of the reasons why the Canadian has been struggling in the first few games in Turin.

Dusan Vlahovic was expected to leave, but ended up staying at the Allianz Stadium, while Lois Openda joined the club on deadline day.

According to Gazzetta, David is also facing a tactical issue, given that his former club Lille, played attacking football and strongly relied on his link-up abilities. The reality at Juventus is quite different as the Bianconeri aim to produce attacking football, but are currently struggling to produce goal-scoring opportunities, and David is rarely involved.

David only made 16 touches against Milan

Against Milan, the Canadian only made 16 touches in 69 minutes.

Surely, however, there’s a matter of timing that must be considered too. David showed in the past that he needs a few weeks to settle in. Back at Gent, his first European club, he found the net in his Europa League playoff debut, but didn’t score the first league goal until December. The same happened at Lille, when he netted his first goal in a competitive match three months after joining the club.

David would go on to score 109 goals in 232 matches with the French club, so hopefully for the Bianconeri, the Canadian will only need some more time to show the best version of himself.