Lecce have run out of patience with Lameck Banda. The Zambian winger, one of the club's most reliable performers over the past three seasons, has not shown up for pre-season training and has now missed a scheduled medical examination as well, according to ONE.
"Unfortunately, we haven't heard from Lameck Banda for several days," Lecce technical director Stefano Trinchera said, adding bluntly that the player "will pay the consequences of his behaviour" once the situation is resolved.
Banda was due at the BioLab clinic in Cutrofiano, near Lecce, for a routine pre-season medical check. He never turned up, and club staff say calls and messages to the 25-year-old have gone unanswered.
The saga has dragged on for more than a week. Banda initially told Lecce that bureaucratic and logistical problems were delaying his return to Italy from Zambia, but he was later reported to have been spotted leaving Lusaka's Kenneth Kaunda International Airport aboard an Ethiopian Airlines flight with his newly married wife — only for the club to say it still had not heard from him directly.
The disappearing act comes amid live transfer interest. Saudi Arabian club Al-Fateh have made an approach for Banda, but Lecce have so far rejected an opening offer of around €2.5 million as too low, leaving the winger's immediate future unresolved along with his whereabouts.
There is an Israeli financial interest in how this plays out. Banda arrived at Lecce in August 2022 in a permanent deal from Maccabi Petah Tikva, reportedly worth around €2 million, after a season on loan in Israel. According to ONE, the Israeli club retained a sell-on percentage on any future transfer fee above that €2 million mark — meaning a sale to Al-Fateh or elsewhere would trigger a payment back to Petah Tikva.
Banda made history on his Lecce debut as the first Zambian player to appear in Serie A, and he has been a fixture for the club ever since, contributing five goals and four assists last season as Lecce retained their top-flight status.
For now, Lecce are left waiting — for Banda to answer his phone, for a transfer offer they consider acceptable, and for clarity on a player who was supposed to be back in training weeks ago.
