Patson Daka is one of Zambia’s all-time leading goalscorers. While his tally of 21 is someway short of Godfrey Chitalu’s amazing total of 79, Daka is one of the country’s most celebrated and talented players. But things aren’t going so well for him in England with Leicester City.
Daka’s time at Leicester
Daka signed for Leicester in 2021 for a reported fee of £23 million. He had scored at a remarkable rate of more than one in every two games in Austrian football for Red Bull Salzburg.
The striker had an amazing first autumn for the Foxes, scoring against Manchester United and then netting four against Spartak Moscow in the Europa League. He was the club’s first player to score four in a game since 1958.
Daka has rarely been a guaranteed starter for Leicester, not least because of the near-constant presence of Jamie Vardy, widely considered one of the club’s greatest ever players who is now with Cremonese in Italy. To date, Daka has not made more than 30 league appearances in a single campaign. The striker recently helped Leicester to a 1-1 draw away against Ipswich with the opening goal.
This season, Daka has come off the bench more often than he has started, but still contributed a few goals and assists. Daka will want to start shooting more often – he is only attempting around 1 effort on goal per 90 minutes, a far cry from his 3 shots per game during his great run in the Europa League in 2021-22.
The Premier League’s big shock
Leicester were one of the English Premier League’s most popular winners in 2016. It was one of the greatest shocks in football history: Leicester overcame huge clubs like Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea, and pre-season title sports betting title winning odds of around 5000/1.
Claudio Ranieri’s team charmed fans of other teams with their blistering counter attacks and characters like N’Golo Kanté and Jamie Vardy. But the following season was one of the worst title defences ever as Leicester finished 12th. Then in 2023, Leicester were relegated to England’s second tier, the Championship. They became only the second former English champions to be relegated since the formation of the rebranded top flight in 1992.
Many pundits expected them to bounce straight back up, and so it proved. Enzo Maresca led them to the Championship title and was then persuaded to leave by Chelsea. But Leicester struggled again in the top tier, and were relegated for the second time in three years. What has happened since?
Leicester in the Championship
Leicester have had an uncertain time back in the Championship, with Marti Cifuentes in charge until 25 January, before former player Andy King (part of the Premier League title winning squad) was briefly caretaker manager. Gary Rowett took over in February on contract to the end of the season.
Things actually started quite well this season, with three wins in their first four league matches. But ever since Leicester lost to Hull in October, they have struggled. They have only managed back-to-back league wins once in the five months since.
Rowett has plenty of experience in the English leagues, with Leicester his eighth club as a manager (including a brief spell as interim Birmingham City boss). Rowett said he was proud to be the new Leicester manager and described the group as “really talented”. Sky Sports EFL editor Simeon Gholam said that while Rowett’s teams are rarely praised for stylish football, they are known for endeavour, which the Foxes have lacked this season.
Daka’s contract is reportedly not up for renewal and his future is uncertain amid interest from Valencia. Several clubs would rival Valencia for the Zambian striker’s signature.
