Will Patson Daka succeed Jamie Vardy as Leicester’s No.9?

In the summer of 2021, Leicester City signed Patson Daka for £23m from Red Bull Salzburg.

The Zambian striker finished his maiden Foxes season with 34 goals in 42 appearances to help Salzburg win the Austrian title. This season, his first with the foxes, Daka finished with eleven goals and four assists in 33 appearances. With having a somewhat underwhelming campaign, people are wondering if Daka will succeed Jamie Vardy as No.9?

Firstly, Daka’s strengths. The 23-year-old is super quick. His speed and acceleration are some of the best in the Premier League. Daka can turn it from 0 to 100 real quick. If defenders are flat-footed or just not paying attention, Daka makes them pay with his long strides.

Like Vardy, the new striker is great at being a poacher as he is quick to react to loose balls thanks to his previously talked about speed and his unreal agility. Daka’s last biggest quality is his finishing within the box. He is not missing from there.

Then, there are his weaknesses. Daka has no aerial game. Despite having a good size at 6’1”, Daka isn’t going to win a header from of a cross. He is only going to get you a goal with his feet. Daka isn’t the best at moving the ball around for his teammates. He really is only contributing to the team if he is in front of a goal.

Finally, Daka hasn’t proven himself good enough in one on one situations. He hasn’t showcased enough on the Premier League level if he can win these situations. This is a major red flag for me. There are so many great defenders in the Premier League. Your team isn’t going to be able to give you a beautiful pass every time. You’re going to need to be able to create your own shot somehow.

So do I think Daka will succeed Vardy as No.9? I think not. Firstly, I think Daka is a good player. I just think there’s too much going against him. Vardy and Kelechi Iheanacho will be back next season. So it is already challenging enough to just find Daka some playing time. Then, with the little amount of playing time he’s likely to receive, he’ll have to do so much to prove himself.

Unfortunately, he is not ready to prove himself. He showed signs of hope like his four-goal masterclass against Spartak Moscow. But, there are just too many red flags to ignore. Outside of scoring inside the box, like most strikers should be able to, Daka just isn’t providing much for the team. If Daka is here by the time Vardy retires, I’d expect Brendan Rodgers to sign a new No.9 during that summer.