Karim Adeyemi primed to step into Patson Daka's sizeable shoes this summer

It might be easy to miss, but this season Zambian international Patson Daka has taken a quantum leap forward in terms of his output.

The Austrian Bundesliga is hardly the cynosure of attention, and so accomplishments there tend to come with a certain caveat, especially for players of RB Salzburg.

That said, there is still something genuinely impressive about the fact that the 22-year-old has, in only his third senior season, already broken the 30-goal mark in all competitions. Last season, he managed 27 in 45; so far this term, he stands at 30 in 33.

Daka has scored in 18 of the 20 league fixtures for which he was available this season, with only the two Vienna clubs and Admiral Wacker having managed to escape his wrath. He is averaging over a goal a game in league play, and has at least one goal contribution in every competition in which he has featured.

Whatever discount skeptics may wish to apply can be answered to a degree with the fact that his goalscoring heroics have not been limited to club football.

The Kafue-born striker also starred for Zambia in qualifying for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, scoring five goals in six games even as Chipolopolo fell short – a haul good enough for a share of top spot in the scoring charts (alongside Nigeria international Victor Osimhen).

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It very much paints a picture of steady progression for one of Europe’s highly rated young forwards, and also suggests he is ready to take that next step this summer and move on to bigger things.

Freddie Kanoute’s recent comments to Sky Austria – the former Mali international is Daka’s agent – have reportedly put a number of clubs on high alert, and have seen the striker linked to everyone from Manchester United to Liverpool.

“He really got started this season,” Kanoute noted. “He is developing almost daily. I think it’s time for a new challenge at the end of the season.”

The Zambian is, of course, far from the finished product. While the interest from the top of the Premier League is certainly flattering, his lack of goals in two seasons of Champions League campaigning could indicate he would find the level and pressure a bit much to carry. An intermediate step, preferably to a club with a clear attacking ethos (sorry, Tottenham fans), would seem the most sensible move.

There will be no shortage of suitors, but there is also unlikely to be a vacuum upon his departure. In much the same way as he was on hand to pick up the slack upon Erling Haaland’s departure, 19-year-old wonderkid and Karim Adeyemi is already waiting in the wings to take over the mantle at Salzburg.

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Adeyemi, who is eligible for Nigeria through his father, has cast aside the trauma of being cut adrift at Bayern Munich, where he has admitted he struggled to follow the laid-down youth development template. Away from the glamour of FC Hollywood, and via a loan move to satellite club Liefering, the forward is now starting to show glimpses of his capabilities at Salzburg.

He has racked up six goals and six assists in all competitions this season, which is a lot more impressive considering only seven of his 30 appearances have been starts. Last December, he became the youngest player to score for Salzburg in the Champions League when he came off the bench to open his account in the competition against Lokomotiv Moscow.

Coveted by Liverpool and Barcelona at various times, Adeyemi was named at #27 in Goal’s 2021 NXGN 50 list of the most promising young talents in world football.

His decision to choose Salzburg as the ideal environment for his development when Chelsea were interested speaks to his maturity, as well as an understanding of just what he needs in this precise moment.

“I decided that with my family because I thought that Salzburg was the best destination for me," he told Stats Perform News in a recent interview. "Their playing style fits me well and we harmonised perfectly.”

It is unlikely then that he will be overly eager to fly the coop, especially when such a clear path is laid out before him. When Daka leaves, it will be Adeyemi upfront alongside Megrim Berisha who keeps Salzburg on top, continuing a quite impressive legacy of top-level centre-forwards.