Football
Exclusive: Leicester Set to Offload Goal-Shy Patson Daka After Year-Long Drought
Leicester City are looking to sell struggling striker Patson Daka in the January transfer window. The experienced Zambia international has not scored in 38 matches for the Foxes and is now surplus to requirements. The club is eager to cash in on him as European interest in his signature grows.
Leicester City v Blackburn Rovers - Sky Bet Championship by Plumb Images | Getty Images
Leicester City are willing to sell struggling striker Patson Daka when the January transfer window opens, SportsBoom can exclusively reveal.
Our sources have discovered that the experienced Zambia international hitman is now surplus to requirements at the Kingpower Stadium.
Amazingly the 27-year-old centre-forward, who joined the club in a £23million five-year deal, has NOT scored a goal for the Foxes for 38 matches.
He has also not scored in 15 Championship fixtures this season, as well as an EFL outing earlier in the season and four appearances for his country.
It’s a worrying goal drought which dates back to 3rd December last year when he netted in a 3-1 home win over West Ham before the club were relegated from the Premier League.
If Daka doesn’t score in any of the Foxes’ next three fixtures, then he would end up with the unenviable stat of a striker who has not scored for a calendar year.
Not that Daka has been a prolific striker during his career, although he scored seven goals in 20 games for the club during the 2023-24 season in the second tier.
But it looks like this season will be his fifth and final season at the club as the Foxes look to cash in on him when the transfer window re-opens.
EUROPEAN INTEREST
SportsBoom understands there has already been interest from abroad in the player’s signature, but nothing concrete has progressed at this stage.
Rangers have also reportedly registered their interest, with new boss Danny Rohl keen to revive the striker’s stalling career.
Leicester boss Marti Cifuentes has backed Daka to find the back of the net, but the Spanish boss knows such a poor return will not help the club find their way back to the Premier League.
Cifuentes recently said: “What we need from strikers is just one goal to make sure they grow in confidence.
“I can imagine how frustrating it can be for him, but he brings good energy to the team.”
Daka, capped 51 times for his country, played a key role for the Foxes as they won promotion to the top-flight in the 2023-24 season.
He previously won the Austrian Bundesliga on four occasions and the Austrian Cup three times at his former club Red Bull Salzburg.
Neil has been a journalist for longer than he'd care to remember, having written for national newspapers and respected publications for over 25 years. For the last three years he has worked freelance for BBC Sport, working on the production desk as a sub-editor and also as a writer, covering a whole range of sports.