Europe is considered the strongest continent in football when it comes to the quality of the leagues. It is, therefore, a sign of how far the Zambia national team have come in the last few years that many of their players now feature in leagues across Europe.
Here is a look at which Zambian players have shone in Europe for their domestic clubs in the 2022/23 season.
Patson Daka (Leicester)
Leading Zambia striker Patson Daka has spent two seasons in the Premier League after moving to Leicester City from RB Leipzig in 2021 for £23 million. He has scored 15 goals for the Foxes across those two campaigns.
At the start of the 2022/23 season, Daka was in the Leicester team ahead of Foxes legend Jamie Vardy. However, in the second half of the campaign, managers Brendan Rodgers and Dean Smith both rotated their forward line, with Daka, Vardy and Kelechi Iheanacho sharing the game time between them.
Daka will need to consider his future this summer if he wants to guarantee first-team football. Whatever happens, he has shown he can play at the highest level, so there is sure to be a lot of interest in the services of the Zambia international.
Lameck Banda (Lecce)
When he made his debut for Lecce against Inter Milan earlier this season, Lameck Banda became the first Zambian player to feature in Italy’s Serie A. He signed for the Italian club on a four-year deal after transferring from Russian club Arsenal Tula.
Banda’s first goal in Serie A came against Sampdoria in a 2-0 victory back in December. That was an important win in Lecce’s battle to avoid the drop into Serie B. He also shone in a 1-1 draw against Empoli earlier in the campaign, providing the assist to Gabriel Strefezza in an excellent counter-attacking move.
Lecce are 1000/1 outsiders to win Serie A in the 2023/24 campaign, for those looking to place a sports bet Zambia on Banda’s side. With a year of experience in Italian football now under him, he could be set to shine again next season and help his club push further up the table.
Fashion Sakala (Rangers)
In what has been his second season in the Scottish Premiership League (SPL) for Rangers, Fashion Sakala reached double figures for the campaign, scoring 10 league goals in 28 goals. He bettered his tally from his debut season in Scotland.
Unfortunately for Rangers, they had to settle for second place in the standings behind rivals Celtic. However, they have qualified for the UEFA Champions League once again.
Sakala, who scored his seventh goal for his country against Lesotho back in March, is a regular in Michael Beale’s team. He was one of the stars of the Gers’ team which defeated Celtic 3-0 in the final Old Firm clash of the team in the SPL.
Zambia are next in action on the 17th of June when they host Ivory Coast in a 2023 AFCON qualification match and all three of the above players should feature. Their campaign then ends in September when they travel to Moroni, Comoros, for the final game of the group.
Not to be negative, but Daka did not have a good season. Granted he saw more game time which was a plus, but he looked to be playing in 3rd gear this season. Especially compared to last season. He has immense talent, but he looked to be playing with fear this season. I hope he lets loose next season and goes back to be the poacher we all know him to be.
Klings Kangwa should have been on this list. He even scored in a cup final and won the cup. Also he has had an amazing season.