Chipolopolo Boys forward Patson Daka has returned to Leicester City training to start preparations for the 2022/2023 English Premier League season.
Daka, Wesley Fofana and Kelechi Iheanacho returned to Seagrave on Monday to join the Foxes training.
The Zambian international will be hoping to start the season on a strong note.
The Zambian striker, a £23m signing from RB Salzburg last summer, netted 11 goals in his first season in blue to finish as the club’s third-highest scorer. However, he had a difficult conclusion to the campaign, scoring just once in his final 15 outings.
Daka described his first season as an okay season unlike what he expected during an interview back in May.
“It has been an okay season, not really the best like I expected, but it’s a season I can say I can build on,” Daka said. “It’s not easy to go into a foreign land and to adapt there and then. It takes a bit of time. I put pressure on myself.
“I have to continue working extra hard because I know what is expected of me and what I expect of myself. At the end of the day, I know I have everything that it takes for me to be what I want to be. It’s all in me. I just have to be true to myself and believe in myself.”
However, there was one chart he did top at the end of the season. And in fact, he didn’t just top this chart at City, but in the whole of Europe.
Take all of the players in the continent’s top five divisions and nobody had a higher percentage of first-time shots than Daka did. For more than 80 per cent of his efforts on goal, he did not take a touch to control, but hit it immediately.
The Zambian international, and his Leicester City teammates already have six confirmed pre-season friendlies to shape up for the 2022/23 season.
National League side Notts County – the world’s oldest football club still in existence – are first up for the Foxes in pre-season. The Magpies visit LCFC Training Ground in Seagrave on Saturday, 9 thJuly for a 1pm behind-closed-doors kick-off.
They will then face Belgian side, Oud-Heverlee Leuven, Sky Bet Championship side,Hull City, Preston North End, Derby County before hosting Sevilla at King Power Stadium.
Daka also made history last season when he became the first man to net three goals in a single game for Leicester City on the European stage in the 4-3 win over Spartak Moscow in the UEFA Europa League.
His fourth goal in that game meant Daka became the first City player to score four goals in a single game since Derek Hines in a 6-3 victory over Aston Villa in November 1958.
UEFA later confirmed that Daka’s 9- minute hat-trick was the fastest in the history of the Competition.
The Zambian international scored eleven goals and made four assists in 38 appearances in all competitions for the Foxes.
He will hope to improve on his stats this season. The Foxes will open their Premier League account against Brentford on 7th August.
