Leicester City target Patson Daka is likely to leave Red Bull Salzburg, manager Matthias Jaissle has told SN, with the striker missing training this week.
It’s not over until the fat lady sings, of course, but it certainly seems she’s warming up her vocal cords and practising her scales as one of the summer’s biggest transfers edges ever closer.
A deal for Daka is all but complete, with Leicester fighting off competition from a bagful of Premier League rivals including, but not limited to, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Everton, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur.
West Ham United were interested too, although it seems the prospect of regular first-team football at Leicester has convinced Daka the King Power is the place to be.
The chance to work with Brendan Rodgers – a coach famed for his ability to elevate young players to hitherto unseen levels – probably played its part too as the Senegal international edges closer to a £30 million switch.
Could Daka become the next Jamie Vardy at Leicester City?
According to Salzburg24, Daka was nowhere to be seen as the Austrian Bundesliga champions kick-started their pre-season training this week.
And the club’s new manager, 33-year-old Jaissle, admits the 22-year-old speed-machine is likely to have a new club by the time next season kicks off.
“The transfer hasn’t been finalised yet but it strongly looks like (Daka) will leave us,” says Jaissle, who has been tasked with replacing RB Leipzig boss Jesse Marsch in the dugout.
Daka, who is expected to set Leicester back a cool £30 million, has been labelled ‘the next Thierry Henry’ – and with good reason.
Like the Arsenal legend, Daka is a lethal finisher who loves to drift wide and leave defenders choking on his dust with a burst of turbo-charged acceleration.
The striker has also scored 34 and 27 goals respectively in his past two seasons, brilliantly filling an Erling Haaland-shaped void in the Salzburg front line following the Norwegian’s January 2020 move to Borussia Dortmund.
Will Daka emulate Haaland’s success at a major European league – or struggle a la Takumi Minamino and Hwang Hee-chan?
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