Leicester City have confirmed the signing of striker Patson Daka from Red Bull Salzburg, with the fee thought to be around £23m.

The Zambian forward, who scored 34 goals in 42 appearances in all competitions last season, signed a five-year contract at the King Power Stadium.

A striker had been high on Brendan Rodgers’ priority list this summer, and 22-year-old Daka emerged as Leicester’s number one target despite Celtic’s Odsonne Edouard also being linked to the club.

“I’m so, so excited to join this great, historic club. It has been my dream and I’m so happy and looking forward to what’s coming next,” Daka told LCFC TV.

“I have followed Leicester from the time they won the league. I feel it is the perfect place for me, because it’s a team that fights for titles. I know it’s not going to be easy, but I feel ready to face this new challenge.

“I will give my best for the club each and every day, and I look forward to seeing the Leicester City fans inside the stadium soon.”

Leicester City have yet again undergone another astute piece of business, more importantly the club have also secured their future post-Jamie Vardy with Patson Daka’s capture.

The club had been monitoring Daka for a significant period of time and feel this is the perfect period for them to sign the striker, after his tremendous goalscoring feats last season in Austria, scoring 34 goals in 42 games (27 goals in 28 games in the Austrian Bundesliga).

The Zambian joined Salzburg as a teenager in 2017 and signed a five-year contract. He broke into the first team in 2019 and has been an absolute revelation since then, becoming one of Europe’s most devastating strikers. Daka was named Austrian Bundesliga player of the season this year after his extraordinary scoring record as well as providing seven assists for his teammates, finishing the season with 34 goals and 11 assists in all competitions.

Brendan Rodgers have been searching for an eventual successor to Jamie Vardy for a long while, searching for players with the potential to be honed and developed and one they can ease into a first-team role gradually, Daka represented the perfect addition.

Rodgers had always stated he wanted a striker who is incredibly mobile, pacey, energetic, can stretch defences by running in-behind at speed and fits the profile of his emerging side. All of those characteristics are all similarities to Jamie Vardy’s game, and Daka is built in the same mould, but a more fresh, young and vibrant alternative.

Standing at 6ft 1in, Daka also offers a physicality that is rarely seen in Jamie Vardy and Kelechi Iheanacho, and a focal point that will allow Leicester City to become more flexible and devastating in the attacking third.

Patson Daka was seen as the replacement for Erling Haaland when the Norwegian left Salzburg for Dortmund in January 2020, and the Zambian has repaid that faith to such incredible effect, bagging 61 goals in 87 appearances in the last two seasons alone.

Daka is of course in a similar mould to Jamie Vardy, and that will have been plainly in the thoughts of Leicester’s recruitment team. Of course, expectations of him will be managed carefully, given that he is arriving from a league that is not as robust and competitive as the Premier League.

Once Daka is in full flow, eventually, he’d be almost unstoppable. His profile is of a player who has fantastic raw pace and great movement, one who is also of a ‘fox in the box’ ilk. He comes alive in the penalty area and like Vardy, enjoys playing on the shoulder of the last defender.

Unlike Iheanacho, Daka rarely gets involved in the build-up – again, similar to Vardy – but once the ball comes to him, he’s either finishing moves or assisting someone else. Players like James Maddison, Youri Tielemans and Harvey Barnes would absolutely thrive playing off Patson Daka because of his energy, constant movement and ability to find the perfect pockets of space in order to get an effort on goal.

There are several key components to Daka’s style. His speed and agility over short distances stand out.

His acceleration can be devastating, tearing past seemingly flat-footed defenders with an aura of grace in his long strides. He is a tremendous athlete, incredibly energetic and a non-stop runner which is a nightmare for even the most elite of defenders.

The Zambian is so smart in how he uses his athleticism to his advantage. It makes him a very adept poacher, pouncing on loose balls in the box, reacting quicker than anyone in congested areas. In that act, he is very well capable of creating something for himself out of nothing. It’s clear, Jamie Vardy isn’t getting any quicker, so Daka represents the perfect and swift solution to fill that void.

When Daka has time on his hands – particularly when through on goal – he is at his most clinical. He possesses such a unique knowledge of when to time his runs across defenders and latch onto through balls. Once Daka takes a pass in his stride, it is simply game over for his opponent; he is simply no slouch when the opportunity arises to go in one-on-one with a goalkeeper.

Once he picks his spot, there’s no stopping him. Daka holds an assured aura about him when finishing chances, like a throwback to the great Samuel Eto’o. His finishes itself are a foregone conclusion; he is a good striker of the ball, crucially with both feet which makes him so dangerous when an opportunity arises.

Last season, he contributed 1.4 non penalty goals or assists per90 mins, the best of any player in the Austrian top-flight. Daka can also be described by casual observers as a player who relies on scoring tap-ins, but that isn’t to say most of his goals comes as a tremendous amount of luck for him. In fact, it all owes to his predatory movement and instincts in the penalty box. He knows where to be in order to score goals and that’ll be a valuable trait at Leicester City.

At times last season, Brendan Rodgers lacked the potency to finish off chances, ultimately sacrificing a priceless Champions League spot for next season. Once Patson Daka beds himself in, he could provide that missing ingredient in front of goal, that incredible potency when needed.

In Salzburg’s customary 4-2-2-2 system, Daka usually lined up with a strike partner in Mergim Berisha or Karim Adeyemi offering such exhilarating pace, movement and the ability to stretch opposition defences. Rodgers usually favours a lone-frontman, but showed his superb flexibility tactically when proposing a twin attack of Vardy and Iheanacho towards the end of last season. Daka isn’t foreign to that, and will certainly fit in perfectly whatever formation Rodgers utilises.

Patson Daka is set to be Brendan Rodgers’ long-awaited man. While Jamie Vardy is unfortunately on the wane, Leicester City and their fans can move forward knowing that their future in attack is in safe hands.

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