Albion Analytics: Promise David

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The striker joined us on a season-long loan from Royale Union Saint-Gilloise.

Liam Tharme

Albion Analytics

2026-09-03T14:00+01:00

Promise David made his Albion debut in the 4-3 defeat to Chelsea. 📸 by James Boardman.

Fabian Hurzeler boosted his attacking options with the loan signing of Canadian international striker Promise David, who joined from Royale Union St-Gilloise with the potential to make the move permanent pending certain criteria being met.

The 25-year-old arrives with proven goalscoring credentials. He netted 41 times in 82 appearances for RUSG across all competitions, at an average of one every 114 minutes. Impressively, he scored eight times in ten champions play-off round games at the end of 2024/25 to help the Brussels-based side to their first Belgian title for 90 years.

At 6ft 5in, it is easy to profile David as a pure target man, though this is an oversimplification. He does not rank highly for duels contested, though did win the majority of his aerial duels over the past two seasons, including 55.8% of the 105 he contested in 2024/25.

Another brace for Tobi! 🔥

And what does Senior man @boniface_jrn think of that second goal celebration? 😎 pic.twitter.com/2JunIkr02p
— Royale Union Saint-Gilloise (@UnionStGilloise) November 11, 2024

David is undoubtedly a penalty-box forward, the kind of profile which has become increasingly popular across the Premier League. Two years ago he finished third top-scorer in the Belgian Pro League, hitting 19 for RUSG, including five goals from six penalties, and led the league for conversion rate (32% from 60 shots) and expected goals per shot (0.27xG), a reflection of how effectively he gets into quality goalscoring positions.

There is real variety to David’s attacking game, perhaps to be expected for a forward who came through the youth ranks in his native Canada, turned fully professional in Malta, and spent two years in Estonia before joining RUSG in 2024. He has had to adapt to different leagues and cultures more than once, which no doubt would have been a positive sign for Brighton, who they had been scouting for “some time,” as per sporting director Mike Cave.

“He is an out-and-out striker who possesses outstanding physical attributes and has a track record of scoring goals,” Cave continued, praising David’s international experience — four goals in 14 caps for Canada — and European-level prowess, having played in the Champions League.

Promise David adds an aerial presence in both boxes. 📸 by James Boardman.

There are a lot of similarities with David to Danny Welbeck, who left the Albion this summer for Chelsea. Both are reliable forwards when given service from the wings, and like to run the channels.

In 2024/25, David had the most offsides in the Belgian top tier, a sign of just how often he plays on the shoulder of the centre-backs, and he scored four headers — current Albion defender Luka Vuskovic, who was then on loan at Westerlo, headed in five, the only player with more. In the same season, the Canadian also made 31 clearances, putting him among the top five forwards and proving the aerial threat he can offer in both boxes, especially at defensive set pieces.

David will be expected to fill some of the Welbeck void, as the veteran striker bagged 13 goals last season, breaking Glenn Murray’s club record for the most in a single Premier League season, and Welbeck’s haul accounted for one-quarter of Brighton’s total (52).

Promise David scored 41 goals in 82 appearances for Royale Union Saint-Gilloise before joining Albion in the summer. 📸 by James Boardman.

Of David’s 27 shots in the Champions League and Europa League, 17 were one-touch efforts. While a limited sample size, it underlines his preference to make runs between the posts, and to get into the penalty area rather than drop deep in build-up — last season just 11 of his 76 shots came from outside the box.

Analyse the patterns of David’s goals and two main trends stand out: when in games he scores, and when in a season he scores. Impressively, he netted the opening goal in 19 USG matches over the past two terms, and twice last season he enjoyed scoring runs — five goals in his opening nine games of 2025-26, and strikes in three consecutive matches in November.

That his season was cut short in late February owed to an untimely hip injury which required surgery, the first major injury of his career. Still, David recovered in time for a summer World Cup on home soil, helping Canada with a succession of substitute appearances to the round of 16, a run which included a first point, first win and first knockout round victory (1-0 over South Africa) at a men’s World Cup.

David netted a consolation goal in the group-stage defeat to Switzerland, an instinctive right-footed tap-in from Nathan Saliba’s fizzed cutback.

Canada’s Promise David scored his first World Cup goal just 70 seconds after coming off the bench against Switzerland! 💥

Look at that assist 😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/1s4wIlWcdu
— Match of the Day (@BBCMOTD) June 24, 2026