Leicester City defender Luke Thomas has put Patson Daka and Jamie Vardy on level pegging in speed and ability after the Zambia striker scored his second goal of the season against Newcastle United on Sunday.
The 23-year-old Zambia international marked his full debut at home with a goal as the Foxes smashed the visiting Magpies 4-0 in a Premier League fixture at the King Power Stadium.
A penalty from Youri Tielemans, won by James Maddison, set City on their way before Daka made it 2-0 early on in the second half.
Tielemans then found the net again, before Maddison scored after being set up by Daka to help Leicester record their biggest winning margin of the season.
Thomas, who is an academy graduate and was also making his debut for Leicester, has praised Daka and Vardy, adding they have similar qualities.
“They’re both very similar players, they both show great aggression in the press and they’re both fast players, so they’ve got similarities between them and they can both do the job there,” Thomas said as quoted by the club’s official website.
“They’re both quality players, so either one that plays, it’s always good and we know that they can score goals.”
In a previous interview after the game, Daka explained his feeling after starting ahead of regular starters Vardy and Nigeria’s Kelechi Iheanacho.
“Every player looks forward to starting, but it’s also about what the coach thinks about the tactics going into that game,” Daka said.
“I think he believed I was the one he wanted to use. It’s not that I’m better than others, it’s the way he wanted to approach this game. I’m just thankful that I had my full debut here and to mark it with a goal and an assist was really brilliant for me, for my confidence, and also for the team.”
On the origin of his backflip celebration, Daka explained: “It’s since I was a kid. I was doing it for fun. I was just doing it with my friends. Most of the time, I get lost in the moment when I’m celebrating.
“Whatever comes to my mind is what I end up doing. It’s not like I planned to do this… I just find myself doing it!”
Daka will hope to keep his starting role when Leicester take on Tottenham Hotspur in their next league assignment on Thursday.