£75k-a-week star set to leave Leicester City - Gary Lineker once called him the "real deal" | OneFootball

Patson Daka is reportedly set to leave the Foxes this summer

Recently-relegated Premier League side Leicester City have told out-of-form striker Patson Daka that he is free to leave the club this summer ahead of their return to the Championship next season, according to a new report.

Daka is nearing the end of his fourth season at the King Power Stadium, after he initially made the move to the club from Red Bull Salzburg in June 2021 for a reported fee of around £23 million.

He has mainly played second-fiddle behind Jamie Vardy over the last few years, and has largely failed to prove his worth with a lack of regular goals in both the Premier League and the Championship.

The Zambian international has been linked with a move away from the East Midlands in recent times, and following the Foxes' dismal top-flight campaign that has seen them relegated back to the second-tier with five games to play, he finally looks set to exit in the summer with one year left on his contract.

As per Capology, Daka is estimated to be earning a weekly wage of £75,000. Getting that sort of contract off the books could free up significant funds for the Foxes heading into the Championship.

Leicester to let Patson Daka leave the club in the summer transfer window

Daka has netted just once in 20 Premier League appearances so far this term, with his solitary strike coming in a 3-1 win over West Ham back in December, after he missed the first few months of the campaign with an ankle injury.

His best run of form in a Leicester shirt actually came in his first season at the club, as he became their all-time leading goalscorer in European competition with six strikes across 10 appearances in both the Europa League and Europa Conference League.

The 26-year-old has largely struggled in recent times due to lack of confidence and consistency, with just five league starts all campaign up to now. It comes as little surprise, then, to see Sportsboom reporting that Daka is free to leave the King Power Stadium in the summer transfer window.

They claim that chiefs at the club want to cash in on his services as part of their squad rebuild as they aim to return to the top-flight at the first attempt in 2025/26.

Daka's Foxes contract expires next year, so they must look to sell him this summer in order to recoup some of the sizeable fee paid for him back in 2021, while the player himself is believed to want a fresh start and a move away.

Daka has been a costly flop for the Foxes - he may struggle to find a Premier League move

Leicester's last few years have certainly not gone to plan, after they looked to have established themselves as genuine top-six contenders in the Premier League following their miraculous title-winning season in 2016, and historic FA Cup victory in 2021.

They finished eighth in the top-flight and reached the Europa Conference League semi-finals in Daka's maiden campaign at the club under Brendan Rodgers, but just a year after that season had ended they were back in the Championship after a shock relegation.

Expectations were high for Daka following his productive debut season, but he has failed to deliver the goods since. Gary Lineker was among many enthused by the striker at first, though, and described Daka as the "real deal" after he found the back of the net in an eventual 3-2 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur in January 2022.

Indeed, Daka did look the real deal - long before his hotly-anticipated move to Leicester, too. However, he has fallen short of reaching his potential with the club and it's little surprise to see both parties now seemingly looking to part ways this summer.

While all the blame should certainly not be pointed at Daka for Leicester's plight, it is fair to admit that he was not the top striker that many at the club expected him to be, and he had struggled to adapt from being one of the best players in the Austrian Bundesliga to being a rotational player at the King Power Stadium.

That struggle has only continued into recent seasons. He played his part in their second-tier title-winning season, but has been massively ineffective on their return to the Premier League, so it comes as little shock to see both him and the club preparing to severe ties this summer.

Everton have been linked with interest in his signature as recently as the January transfer window, but his struggles this term mean it feels unlikely that the Toffees will make a move in the months to come following their revival under David Moyes.

Both Leicester and Daka will surely have regrets over his time at the club as it looks set to come to an anti-climactic end this summer. His arrival promised so much, but he has ultimately failed to deliver over a period of time, and has played his part in their recent downfall as a club.