Patson Daka (born 9 October 1998) is a Zambian professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

for club

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...

and the Zambia national team. Coming through the youth system, Daka played for local club Kafue Celtic, who sent him on loan to

Nchanga Rangers Nchanga Rangers is a Zambian football club based in Chingola that plays in the MTN/FAZ Super Division. They play their home games at Nchanga Stadium in Chingola. The club is sponsored by Konkola Copper Mines. Achievements * Zambian Premier ...

and Power Dynamos. In January 2017, Daka joined Red Bull Salzburg's reserve team Liefering in Austria, and was then made part of the first team in summer 2017. He helped Red Bull Salzburg win four

Austrian Bundesliga The Austrian Football Bundesliga (german: Österreichische Fußball-Bundesliga, italic=no , "Austrian Football Federal League"), also known as Admiral Bundesliga for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the Austrian football league system. Th ...

titles and three Austrian Cups. In summer 2021, Daka joined Leicester City in the Premier League. Daka represents Zambia internationally, making his senior debut in 2015 aged 16.

Club career

Early career

Daka began his youth career at Kafue Celtic, joining their under-12s, before moving on to the under-14s in 2007, and to the under-17s in 2010. In summer 2014, Daka was sent on a one-year loan to

in the

Zambia Super League The Zambia Super League, known as the MTN Super League for sponsorship purposes, is the top association football league created in 1962 by the Football Association of Zambia. The winners of the league each season receives ZMW500,000 ($26,414.20) ...

. He was then loaned out to Power Dynamos in summer 2015. Before that, he did some practice sessions with

Lille Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Pref ...

but finally didn't sign with the French side. At Dynamos, he ended the season as the club's top scorer with 12 goals.

Liefering

Daka initially moved to Austria when he signed with Liefering on a half-season loan from Kafue Celtic.

Red Bull Salzburg

Daka signed with Red Bull Salzburg in 2017. He helped the club win the

UEFA Youth League The UEFA Youth League is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) since 2013. In its current format, it is contested by the youth teams of the clubs competing in the UEFA Champions League ...

, scoring two goals in two games. On 27 November, Daka scored against

Genk Genk () is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality located in the Belgian Provinces of Belgium, province of Limburg (Belgium), Limburg near Hasselt. The municipality only comprises the town of Genk itself. I ...

in the

2019–20 UEFA Champions League The 2019–20 UEFA Champions League was the 65th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 28th season since it was renamed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League. Bayern Munich d ...

, becoming the first Zambian player to score in the competition's group stage. On 18 December 2019, Daka extended his contract with Salzburg until the summer of 2024. On 30 September 2020, he scored a brace in a 3–1 win over

Maccabi Tel Aviv Maccabi Tel Aviv ( he, מכבי תל אביב) is one of the largest sports clubs in Israel, and a part of the Maccabi association. Many sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv are in association with Maccabi and compete in a variety of sports, such ...

in the play-off round to qualify to the

2020–21 UEFA Champions League The 2020–21 UEFA Champions League was the 66th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 29th season since it was renamed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League. Chelsea defeat ...

. On 21 May 2021, Daka was named Austrian Bundesliga player of the season after registering 27 goals in 28 games, as the club won their fourth successive league title.

Leicester City

Patson Daka vs Spartak Moscow 2021 (cropped)

On 30 June 2021, Daka signed for

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

club

on a five-year contract, for a reported fee of £23 million. Daka made his debut for the club with an appearance off the bench in Leicester's 1–0 triumph over reigning Premier League champions

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

in the

FA Community Shield The Football Association Community Shield (formerly the Charity Shield) is English football's annual match contested at Wembley Stadium between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA Cup. If the Premier Le ...

on 7 August. On 23 August, Daka made his Premier League debut as a substitute for

Harvey Barnes Harvey Lewis Barnes (born 9 December 1997) is an English professional association football, footballer who plays as a Winger (association football), winger for club Leicester City F.C., Leicester City. Early life Barnes was born in Burnley, L ...

in a 4–1 away defeat to

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

. On 16 October, he scored his first goal for Leicester City in a 4–2 win against

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

King Power Stadium King Power Stadium (also known as the Leicester City Stadium due to UEFA sponsorship regulations and formerly known as the Walkers Stadium) is a football stadium in Leicester, England. It has been the home of Premier League club Leicester City ...

. He followed this up on 20 October by scoring all four goals in a 4–3 win over

Spartak Moscow Spartak Moscow may refer to the following teams based or formerly based in Moscow, Russia: * FC Spartak Moscow, an association football club * HC Spartak Moscow, a professional ice hockey team * Spartak GM Moscow, a semi-professional rugby club * WB ...

in the

2021–22 UEFA Europa League The 2021–22 UEFA Europa League was the 51st season of Europe's secondary club association football, football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 13th season since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Europa League. Eintracht Frankf ...

, becoming the first Leicester player to score 4 in a game since 1958. On 25 November 2021, Daka became Leicester's all-time leading goalscorer in European competition by scoring in a 3–1 Europa League victory over

Legia Warsaw Legia Warszawa (), commonly referred to as Legia Warsaw or simply Legia, is a professional football club based in Warsaw, Poland. Legia is the most successful Polish football club in history, winning record 15 Ekstraklasa champions titles, a ...

International career

Daka made his senior debut for

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...

in a 2–0 friendly victory over

Malawi Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast ...

on 10 May 2015. He was the 2017 CAF Young Player of the Year.

Personal life

Daka's father, Nathtali Daka, was a former footballer who played as a winger for local club Kafue-based Nitrogen Stars. He is a devout

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Zambia's goal tally first.''

Honours

Red Bull Salzburg Youth *

: 2016–17 Red Bull Salzburg *

: 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20,

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...

Austrian Cup The Austrian Cup (german: ÖFB-Cup), known as UNIQA ÖFB Cup for sponsorship purposes, is an annual football competition held by the Austrian Football Association, the ÖFB. During the 2008–09 season, Austria Wien won the tournament for 27th t ...

: 2018–19, 2019–20,

Leicester City *

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

Zambia U20 *

Africa U-20 Cup of Nations The U-20 Africa Cup of Nations also called TotalEnergies U-20 Africa Cup of Nations for sponsoring reason (previously known as the African Youth Championship or the African U-20 Championship) is the main international youth football competition ...

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

* COSAFA U-20 Cup:

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

Individual * Africa U-20 Cup of Nations Best Player:

* Africa U-20 Cup of Nations Best XI:

* CAF Youth Player of the Year: 2017 *

Young Player of the Year: 2014, 2016 * Zambia Sportsman of the Year: 2017 * Austrian Bundesliga Team of the Season:

* Austrian Bundesliga Player of the Season:

* Austrian Bundesliga Top scorer:

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Daka, Patson 1998 births Living people People from Chingola Zambian Christians Zambian footballers Zambia youth international footballers Zambia under-20 international footballers Zambia international footballers Association football forwards Kafue Celtic F.C. players Green Buffaloes F.C. players Power Dynamos F.C. players FC Liefering players FC Red Bull Salzburg players Leicester City F.C. players Zambia Super League players 2. Liga (Austria) players Austrian Football Bundesliga players Premier League players 2019 Africa U-23 Cup of Nations players Zambian expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Austria Expatriate footballers in England Zambian expatriate sportspeople in Austria Zambian expatriate sportspeople in England Zambia A' international footballers 2016 African Nations Championship players