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Can Daka make Zambia the PL's next goalscoring nation?

2 Jul 2021
Patson Daka

With players from 103 nations finding the net so far, can Leicester's new striker add his country to the list?

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A Premier League debut is a proud moment in itself, but when Leicester City's new signing Patson Daka makes his bow he will also have the chance to become Zambia's first Premier League goalscorer.

While the 22-year-old will be the fourth player from his country to appear in the competition, neither Neil Gregory (Ipswich Town), Emmanuel Mayuka (Southampton) nor Collins Mbesuma (Portsmouth) were able to find the net.

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Indeed, of the 33 African nations that have had a PL player, Zambia is one of only five that are yet to produce a PL goalscorer, along with Seychelles, Cape Verde Islands, Central African Republic and Guinea-Bissau.

Daka could end that wait as early as 14 August, if he is involved in Leicester's opening fixture at home against Wolverhampton Wanderers.

He would emulate fellow African strikers such as Efan Ekoko (Nigeria), Tony Yeboah (Ghana), Frederic Kanoute (Mali) and Emmanuel Adebayor (Togo), who also scored the first PL goal for their countries.

See: The first PL goalscorer from every country

Overall, across all continents, Daka can make Zambia the 104th different country to boast a Premier League goalscorer.

That would continue a trend, with six of the last nine additions being African nations.

Latest nations to have first PL scorer
Date Player Club Country
Sep 2014 Victor Wanyama SOU Kenya
Feb 2016 Bertrand Traore CHE Burkina Faso
Mar 2016 Modou Barrow SWA Gambia
Dec 2016 Henrikh Mkhitaryan MUN Armenia
Feb 2017 Pedro Obiang WHU Equatorial Guinea
Jan 2018 Ragnar Klavan LIV Estonia
Dec 2018 Aboubakar Kamara FUL Mauritania
Oct 2019 Onel Hernandez NOR Cuba
Feb 2020 Mbwana Samatta AVL Tanzania

Daka was the top scorer in Austria's top flight last season, scoring 27 goals in 28 league matches for RB Salzburg.

And if he can replicate that form at Leicester, he could eventually become one of the Premier League's all-time leading African goalscorers.

Liverpool duo Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane will both be targeting the No 1 spot this season as they close in on Didier Drogba's total of 104 strikes.

PL's leading African goalscorers

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