David Joins Brighton on Season-Long Loan
Promise David’s Premier League move is finally on.
Brighton & Hove Albion confirmed on Tuesday that the Canadian striker has joined on a season-long loan from Union Saint-Gilloise, in a deal that is set up to become permanent. If certain undisclosed conditions are met, Brighton will be obliged to buy him for a reported US$29.7 million.
For Union, it is a landmark transfer. The Belgian club announced that David will be playing in the Premier League “from the next season onwards” for what they described as a record fee.
From Brussels glory to Brighton’s project
David arrives on the south coast with serious numbers behind him. In two seasons at Union, he struck 41 goals in 82 games and played a central role in the club’s historic 2025 title win — their first league crown in 90 years. His form earned him a contract extension through June 2029 only last year. Now he swaps a fairytale in Brussels for Brighton’s evolving project in England’s top flight.
At 25, the timing feels deliberate. He is no longer a prospect, but not yet a veteran. This is the window when strikers either explode onto the biggest stage or stall.
Brighton sporting director Mike Cave made it clear the club believes it will be the former.
“Promise is someone we have been watching for some time, he is an out-and-out striker who possesses outstanding physical attributes and a track record of scoring goals,” Cave said in a statement. “His experience at international level and in European competition will hopefully prove valuable this season.
“At 25, he’s entering his prime playing years and we’re excited to see him continue to develop in our environment.”
Brighton, established in the Premier League for nine straight seasons and fresh from an eighth-place finish, have been searching for extra punch at the top of the pitch. David is being brought in to supply it.
A winding route to Canada – and to England
David’s path to this point has been anything but straightforward.
Born in Brampton, Ont., to Nigerian parents, he first appeared on the international scene with Nigeria’s under-23 side, making his debut in October 2022. The story shifted three years later. After discussions with Canada coach Jesse Marsch, he requested a one-time switch of allegiance. FIFA approved it in February 2025.
Since then, he has pulled on the Canada shirt 14 times, scoring four goals. At this past summer’s World Cup, he worked his way back from a hip injury, used mainly off the bench but still managing to score once on the biggest stage.
His club career has been just as nomadic. Before Union picked him up in July 2024, David had already played professionally in Croatia, Malta and Estonia, learning his trade in some of European football’s less glamorous outposts. Those years hardened him. The goals in Belgium announced him.
Now comes the real examination: can he translate that journey, that resilience and that scoring touch into consistent returns in the Premier League for a Brighton side intent on pushing the ceiling even higher?
