Leicester signs Austrian league's top scorer Patson Daka

Premier League club Leicester City said Patson Daka will join on a five-year contract starting July 1, subject to league and international clearances.

Forward Patson Daka had scored 27 goals in 28 league matches for Austria's Red Bull Salzburg in the 2020-21 season.

Leicester City has completed the signing of 22-year-old striker Patson Daka from Red Bull Salzburg on Wednesday after the Zambia international led the Austrian league in goals last season.

The Premier League club said Daka will join on a five-year contract starting from July 1, subject to league and international clearances. The transfer fee was reported to be about $30 million.

Daka scored 27 goals in 28 league games for the Austrian champion in the 2020-21 edition, finishing with 34 goals in all competitions.

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“I have followed Leicester from the time they won the league,” Daka told the club's website after completing the formalities of the deal.

“I feel it is the perfect place for me because it's a team that fights for titles. I know it is not going to be easy, but I feel ready to face this new challenge.”

It's the first major off-season signing for the FA Cup champion Leicester and its manager Brendan Rodgers as they eye an eventual successor to the 34-year-old striker Jamie Vardy.

Daka has seven goals in 22 appearances for the Zambia national football team and was named Confederation of African Football's (CAF) young player of the year in 2017.