Three reasons why Patson Daka has struggled this season | OneFootball

Ruud van Nistelrooy has barely utilised Zambian forward Patson Daka. There were also more appearances under the Dutchman than under Steve Cooper. The Foxes have seen the striker perform at the worst of his Leicester City career, barely making an impact.

The player obviously has some quality, so to simply dismiss his performances as indicative of lack of potential and prowess would be crass and lacking in context. That will be the foundation of the three reasons I believe Daka has struggled this season: confidence, involvement, and the waning years of Jamie Vardy.

Leicester City's Patson Daka's struggles

Having a single goal and playing only 452 minutes of Premier League football in this campaign is a shocking return for the Zambian international. By comparison, Jamie Vardy has over 2,200 minutes of football, although only seven goals and three assists to his name to show for that significantly greater time on the pitch. Nevertheless, the Englishman has also offered the side more support deeper.

The main reason has to be confidence and consistency. Patson Daka's confidence when going towards goal appears to be totally shot: he may take a wayward shot lacking vim and vigour, or may simply try to pass somewhere else instead of taking responsibility for the shot. Leicester City's strikers need confidence and to play consistently.

Without confidence, without incessant shooting and a good goalscoring record, the Nistelrooy's team have not selected the Zambian consistently, meaning he has had no chance to right wrongs or to develop and improve. Instead, each time the player comes onto that pitch, there is the pressure of all the past failing and missed goals, as well as the knowledge that not performing excellently will keep the player off the first team against the legendary Vardy.

Thus, with a shattered confidence, Daka only really comes on in one of two roles. Firstly, the Zambian is the 'impact' sub brought on when Leicester are inevitably losing a game in the final 15 minutes, usually to replace a winger. The expectation in that scenario is that the talent must link up well with midfielders and often Vardy immediately, and then create opportunities for the side. Daka's involvement is limited in it's length.

Furthermore, when the Zambian has started, the King Power Club have deployed the player seldom in his naturl position as a sole striker. Instead, Nistelrooy has preferred to play Daka as a wide playmaker alongside Bilal el Khannouss and behind Vardy. In doing this, the international forward's role takes on a difference dimension to that the Englishman takes: Daka must defend, create, and link up play.

This role alteration limits the quality of his involvement. We see from the player's FBRef ratings that Daka is within the 99th percentile for tackling as a striker, but within the 1st percentile for non-penalty expected goals plus expected assists. So, although Patson Daka has supported Leicester City in attempting to disrupt play and create opportunities, the player makes a high quantity of low-value challenges and fails to create chances for other players.

With his confidence shattered, his involvement limited in both quality and quantity, Patson Daka's time at Leicester could not be at a worse moment for the former unicorn striker of RB Salzburg. The club legend, and world-famous Vardy is within his final years with the Foxes. For the Dutchman, a fellow legend of the game, he wants to give the Englishman his sendout: plenty of game time, a chance to help the side, and the freedom of pitch and training.

The Zambian is unable to contend. With the legendary status of the best-value signing in the history of English football, the price tag over his own head, and no run of games to prove himself, Daka is struggling with the inability to attain any meaningful game time. Unfortunately, it seems the Zambian's time at the King Power is almost over, at the same time Vardy's time with us is also over. A new striker may be on the cards for Leicester next season.