Leicester City confirmed their first signing of the summer as Patson Daka from RB Salzburg for an initial fee reported to be £23m.
Patson Daka, a real goal threat in the Austrian Bundesliga, will join Leicester City on a five-year plan. He joins Ryan Bertrand as the first pair of summer incomings for Brendan Rodgers as they look to build on their FA Cup success and their fifth-placed finish.
"Leicester City have announced their first signing of the summer with Patson Daka to officially join the club on Thursday. City will bring in the striker from RB Salzburg in a move worth an initial £23m.Daka confirmed he would be moving to the King Power Stadium last Friday, telling Austrian media he was realising his Premier League dream. (Via: leicestermercury.co.uk)"
Does it come as a surprise that they have signed another striker and full back? No, it does not surprise at all. The King Power club wants to add quality to the squad with depth their biggest hindering factor in the past two campaigns under Rodgers.
Why is Patson Daka one of the most important signings this summer?
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For a long time, the Foxes have searched high and low for a proper Jamie Vardy replacement. Much to our surprise and delight, in stepped Kelechi Iheanacho, who put on an outstanding show at King Power last run out.
Last season he enjoyed his most fruitful return in his senior career to date. In his 25 Premier League appearances he scored 12 goals and assisted a further 2 – reaching double figures for the first time in his career.
Unfortunately for Leicester, the Nigerian’s lethal goal-scoring form only came during the second half of the campaign and at the back end or while playing alongside Vardy.
The Fulham game is the only one he scored while operating without the club’s top goalscorer, Vardy. When playing as his partner, Iheanacho was deadly and scored all sorts of goals.
This appears to be where he thrives and what Rodgers can think about to get the best out of him. However, one must remember, not including games where Iheanacho featured for less than 15 minutes, he came up blank on 11 occasions.
In the first half of the Premier League run, he took until Matchday 22 to score his season opener. This is where Paston Daka comes in and for two main reasons.
Reason #1. Paston Daka is a goal machine
In his first 19 league outings last season, he scored in every game barring two. His longest run without contributing to a goal was three games.
Yes, granted this is in a league that cannot be compared to the Premier League and the last player to come over from Salzburg, Takumi Minamino to Liverpool, has been far from impressive.
But one cannot deny his blistering pace, which suits the Foxes style of play, his keen eye for goal, and his amazing ability with the ball at his feet. He has a Non-Penalty Goal Expected ratio of 1.4 per 90 minutes. That’s an amazing stat for a 22-year-old.
He is the perfect competition for Vardy and Iheanacho.
Reason #2. He could make a great Jamie Vardy successor
Vardy, with age, has surpassed all expectations and has just gotten better and better as the clock winds down. But injuries will always creep up on him and one day take their toll.
If Rodgers can work his magic as he has in the past with others like Raheem Sterling, Leicester City are in for a treat. Daka can learn from the knowledge of Vardy and play his best under Brendan Rodgers style of play.
It was time the club made the move to incorporate another number 9 with Kelechi Iheanacho’s shot as big as Patson Daka. Competition brings out the best in some players who are up for the challenge. He is the perfect competition for Vardy and Iheanacho.