Leicester: The lowdown on new starlet Vontae Daley-Campbell

Leicester City’s 2-2 draw with Brighton – and subsequent win on penalties – was encouraging for many reasons. It gave us a look at the likes of Danny Ward and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, showcased some perfect Leicester penalties, delivered another Ademola Lookman goal, and put a spotlight on yet another promising Leicester City academy player: Vontae Daley-Campbell.

Daley-Campbell will be a name unfamiliar to the wider football world, and even some Leicester fans won’t know about this academy starlet, but if his career is anything to go by, then he will be a name familiar to many in a few seasons. He could well be Leicester’s future at right back.

The 20-year-old was born in London and was signed to Arsenal’s academy at a young age. He played 43 times for Arsenal’s academy in the Premier League 2, scoring 2 goals and getting 2 assists. A lot of 2’s in that sentence. Eventually, Arsenal offered him a scholarship that would see him graduate from the Under 18s, however, Daley-Campbell made the bold decision to turn that offer down.

At 18, to turn down an offer from your academy club in order to pursue offers from a new club, the risk that Daley-Campbell took doing that cannot be understated. Many youth players would have bitten your hand off if you had given them that opportunity. But Daley-Campbell wanted to see a clear path to playing first-team football, Arsenal couldn’t offer him that opportunity.

Daley-Campbell eventually met with Leicester in July 2018, and the club clearly had everything he wanted. A strong academy? Proven success and opportunity for youngsters to graduate into the first team? An incredible new training ground? All things Leicester have. And so, Daley-Campbell was given a three-year deal.

After frequent Premier League 2 appearances for Leicester in 2020/21, Daley-Campbell achieved what he had been dreaming of and made his senior football debut in the FA Cup. Funnily enough, Brighton were the opposition and he played every minute of the game as Leicester edged out a 90th minute winner to get a 1-0 win over Graham Potter’s men. LThe Foxes eventually went on to win the whole competition that season, the first time they had achieved this in the club’s history.

This season, Daley-Campbell had frequently captained the Foxes U23s in the Premier League 2, making 8 appearances so far. His performances earned him this recent start against Brighton in the Carabao Cup. His 73 minutes against the Premier League outfit earnt him high praise from his Leicester peers, with Danny Ward hailing the youngster and calling him ‘brilliant’, as reported by Leicester Mercury.

So, what next for Daley-Campbell? Clearly the England U19 international faces tough competition from the likes of Ricardo, Timothy Castagne, and the returning James Justin. Right now, chances for regular football at Leicester are thin.

What makes sense for Daley-Campbell is to now push for a loan move in January. He is Championship ready and will get opportunities with how thick and fast that competition is. If he does move out on loan, he will emulate the likes of Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Harvey Barnes in progressing his career in England’s second tier.

The future is bright for Daley-Campbell. He is leading Leicester from a young age, has buckets of ambition and delivers on the pitch when needed upon. If Luke Thomas is Leicester‘s future on the left, then the former is the future on the right. Be excited and watch this space.