Leicester City have experienced a sad decline since winning promotion back to the Premier League.
Truthfully, their return couldn’t have gone much worse, with only Southampton conceding more than their tally of 65 goals.
Defence has been a huge problem since Ruud van Nistelrooy took charge but alarmingly, so has their attack.
Jamie Vardy remains Leicester’s top scorer with just seven goals in all competitions, and although the 38-year-old has experienced a decline, no one has been able to replace him.
The loan signing of Odsonne Edouard has been a complete disaster while Tom Cannon was sold to Sheffield United in January, leaving just Patson Daka as a back-up option, and he’s also been woeful.
Virgil van Dijk was once stunned by Patson Daka’s pace
Daka was supposed to be the long-term replacement for Vardy after joining from RB Salzburg in the summer of 2021. The 26-year-old showed lots of promises in the early stages but ultimately, his transfer has been a failure.
Embarrassingly, Daka has cost Leicester £1.9 million per goal scored, netting just 23 times in 114 appearances for the Foxes.
That return isn’t enough to warrant the price tag paid and many anticipate the Zambian leaving the King Power Stadium this summer.
It appears though his Premier League career could end on a sour note with relegation but that wasn’t always the case, as Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk once raved about Daka.
Speaking after their 3-1 win over Leicester in February 2022, the Dutchman said he was wary of the Foxes forward line and the Daka’s ‘crazy’ pace.
“We want to keep a high line because we know we can win the ball up high,” Van Dijk said.
“It’s the risk you have to take. Luckily, they trust us in the back but it’s sometimes not easy, you have to be brave.
“Today, I played against Patson Daka, who is crazy quick in my opinion, so you have to be ready.”
The world-class Liverpool defender won’t be as scared of him now, as the Leicester striker has started just three Premier League games this term and scored just once.
Liverpool wanted to sign Daka before he joined Leicester
Leicester fans will remember that Daka started his City career on fire, netting four goals in a Europa League tie against Spartak Moscow and scoring four in his first nine Premier League games.
Unfortunately, the Zambian never replicated those clinical heroics in the months and years that followed, with supporters being left underwhelmed by him.
Interestingly, before he joined the club in 2021, Liverpool were in the running to sign Daka, per Fabrizio Romano, but the Reds only planned on pushing for a move if they sold Xherdan Shaqiri and Divock Origi.
Speaking on the ‘Here We Go’ podcast in September 2021, Romano said: If they had sold [Xherdan] Shaqiri or Divock Origi in the first days of June, then they had the chance to sign Patson Daka.
“They were interested but never made an official bid. Then it collapsed because of the timing of Shaqiri.”
However, offloading the pair proved difficult and he instead joined Leicester, with the Reds perhaps thankful that a deal never materialised.