‘My Dream Has Come True’ – Daka’s First Leicester City Interview
Speaking from Salzburg, adorning the Club’s 2021/22 adidas home shirt, the 22-year-old discussed a range of topics – including his impressive scoring record, his admiration for manager Brendan Rodgers and his determination to help City compete for silverware.
After being named as the Austrian Bundesliga Player of the Season last term, netting 34 goals in all competitions, Patson will link up with his Leicester colleagues later this summer. Before then, though, Daka outlined the emotions he felt after agreeing a five-year deal with the Club ahead of his maiden campaign with the Foxes in the Premier League.
“I’m so, so excited to be able to be part of this great, historic club,” the former Red Bull Salzburg striker told LCFC TV. “It has been my dream and I’m so happy and excited.
“I’m looking forward to what’s coming next so much. I can’t believe it right now that I’m already wearing this great shirt… I feel like I’m already on the pitch from here! I can’t wait and it means so much to me to be honest. I’m just so happy. My dream has come true today.”
Once terms were agreed with Salzburg, Leicester’s FA Cup-winning manager Rodgers spoke with Daka to detail their future working relationship at King Power Stadium.
The former Kafue Celtic forward, who made his international debut at the age of 16, says he can already tell that it will be a privilege to work with the Northern Irishman in Leicester.
“When we had the negotiations, I spoke to him,” he explained. “I have spoken to him about three times or so and it’s been great. It’s so amazing to know you have someone who’s there, someone who believes in you. He’s got confidence in you, so he had a very big impact in my decision.
“The way he was talking wasn’t to convince me to join the Club, he was just telling me what they would expect from me and what they can do for me. At the end of the day, he told me it’s up to me to make the decision.
“It was easy for me because he showed me the love that I want from a manager, so I’m just looking forward to working with him.”
Like so many around the world, Daka watched the Leicester City story unfold from afar in 2016 as the Foxes lifted the Premier League title and he is now focused on ensuring he is prepared mentally and physically to give his all as the Club pursues further success in future.
“I have been following Leicester from the time they won the Premier League,” Daka added. “I follow their games and their playing style. Jamie Vardy is one of the players I look up to because of his playing style and the qualities that he has.
“I’m so excited to be able to have this opportunity to be next to him and to learn from him. It’s just a privilege for me. The Premier League is one of the best leagues in the world. I have been preparing for this challenge and I know it’s not going to be easy, but no one said it’s going to be easy!
“I just have to be ready and make sure that I prepare myself as adequately as possible to be able to face this new challenge that I’m about to take. It really is a motivating factor for me.
“I am from Salzburg, where we are used to winning trophies at the end of the year, so that winning mentality… I have a feeling it’s what the Leicester team has too. I feel it’s a perfect place for me because it’s a team that fights for titles, it’s a team that is hungry, with young, talented players.
“I’m so excited that I will be part of such a team where they have that hunger in them to win trophies at the end of the day.”
Daka is confident he can adapt to life in the Premier League as the Foxes prepare for an eighth consecutive campaign in the top flight of English football.
He arrives at the Club after netting 61 goals over the past two seasons for Salzburg, but the Zambia international says he is eager to contribute in many ways in Leicester.
“I have to make [my playing style] suit!” he laughed. “I have adapt to the environment. I didn’t suit this environment where I was before at first, but I had to make it work.
“In the Premier League, I have to know what I have to do to make it easy for me. My playing style depends on the situation of the game and the kind of opponents I’m playing against. It’s something that I love to do, scoring goals. It’s just a different feeling. As a striker, it’s what is expected from me.
“At the end of the day, it’s not always about scoring, there are some games where I won’t be able to score, but what’s important is for me to give everything to the team to make sure that the team has got the result we wanted.
“That is what is more important for me. Even if I don’t score, if I am able to at least assist or help the team in any kind of way, it makes me so happy because it doesn’t matter if I’m not the one who has scored.
“So long as I am a part of helping the team to win, that’s more important for me.”
There was time, too, for Daka to address the Blue Army directly after already receiving an overwhelming number of messages from the Club’s fans on social media.
Daka says the sentiments expressed by the Foxes supporters online over recent days gives him every reason to believe he will settle in quickly at his new club.
“To the Leicester City fans, I’m so excited to be a part of this great club,” he said. “I have received thousands of messages already from the fans. I’m just so excited to know that I have got fans behind me who have got so much love and to know they are willing to support me, as well as the Club.
“I will give my best for the Club each and every day and I’m really looking forward to seeing them inside the stadium.”