Brighton & Hove Albion midfielder Enock Mwepu has conceded Patson Daka has been his inspiration in football.
The Zambia national team duo will be dining with the big boys in the Premier League this season after recent moves from initial teams. While Mwepu joined the Seagulls from Red Bull Salzburg, Daka was snapped up by Leicester City from the Austrian charges too.
"We met in 2014 when we were playing in a provincial game where they were trying to identify talents in Zambia. We’ve really helped each other," Mwepu recalls as quoted by The Sun.
"I used to tell him that he was my inspiration because he’s the first guy in our group to play in all tournaments, from Under-17s, Under-20s and the national team. He was always ahead of me and I’m always following him. I look up to him and say, ‘If he can achieve this, I can as well.’"
The 23-year-old is hoping to achieve more than his Icon Yaya Toure who played for Barcelona and Manchester City.
"Yaya Toure has been my inspiration. Being compared to such an icon is a great achievement. I just want to work extra hard and hopefully achieve more than the things he achieved," Mwepu continued.
At Salzburg, the midfielder played with the now Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Braut Haaland. He has explained how his early days were before eventually leaving for the German Bundesliga.
"When Haaland came, we thought, ‘Who is this striker?’ He didn’t seem to be very aggressive, strong, and all that. He was just a striker who was there so we didn’t consider him that much. He didn’t play many games," Mwepu recalled.
"But then in that six months [before Haaland joined Borussia Dortmund, he was exceptional. He put everything out in him. It was exceptional playing with him, he was much more aggressive, he showed he was ready to compete and of course, he has the self-confidence in him which I like about him.
"In training, he is the owner of the training. He is going to smash the defenders, he’s going to score goals. That’s what made him to be where he is. I don’t know what changed. Everyone will tell you the same. Maybe it’s the confidence that the coach gave him or something like that."
Mwepu is expected to make his debut for his new team against Burnley on Saturday.
