Juventus forward Jonathan David played no part in Sunday's Serie A draw against Milan, watching from the sidelines as the Bianconeri and their visitors shared a 1-1 result that left both clubs with something to argue about. Alphadjo Cisse opened the scoring for Juventus before Federico Gatti's late equalizer for Juventus denied Milan all three points — or, depending on your reading, rescued a point they barely deserved. Either way, David was not involved.
That absence is the thread running through his 2026-27 campaign. The Canadian striker, 26, has managed a single Serie A appearance this season, contributing no goals and no assists, with an average match rating of 6.90. The loan to Atletico Madrid, with an option to buy set at €25 million, has complicated his standing at the club considerably: he is nominally a Juventus player, yet the architecture of his situation keeps him at arm's length from Luciano Spalletti's plans.
Spalletti, speaking ahead of the Milan fixture, described the match as one he expected to be vivacious, with attacking approaches from both sides. The line-up Juventus fielded — Nico Gonzalez, Randal Kolo Muani, and Kerim Alajbegovic leading the attack amid what was reported as an injury crisis — underlined how the forward options available to the coaching staff have been reshuffled in David's absence. His name did not appear among those chosen.
Milan coach Ruben Amorim's post-match assessment — that Milan did not deserve to win, or more precisely that Juventus did not deserve to lose — captures the texture of a draw that satisfied nobody. Juventus sit sixth in Serie A with seven points from three matches, the product of two wins and one draw, having scored four goals and conceded one. The defensive solidity is real; the attacking picture is murkier.
David carries an AI overall of 73 out of 100, with a potential of 74 — numbers that suggest a player at or very near his ceiling, not one with vast untapped upside. For a club in sixth place still calibrating its attacking identity under Spalletti, the question of whether David fits that identity — or whether the loan to Atletico Madrid has already answered it — grows more pointed with each match he misses.