Away from narrowly scraping past Everton 1-0 on the opening day, Daniel Farke’s Leeds United have only tasted victory once more in Premier League action.
That was on the road back in September when the top-flight newcomers convincingly got the better of bottom-of-the-table Wolverhampton Wanderers 3-1.
Anton Stach’s glorious free-kick hitting the back of the net was the pick of the strikes from this comprehensive win, but Dominic Calvert-Lewin also broke his Whites duck when heading home the initial equaliser.
Those with connections to Elland Road would have hoped this would be the kick-starter the ex-Everton marksman needed to then find himself deep in a purple patch of form.
Yet, he was frustratingly back to drawing blanks heading into the international break…
Why Calvert-Lewin is struggling at Leeds
The 28-year-old is arguably a streaky centre-forward, with the hit-and-miss number nine scoring seven of his 16 Premier League goals for ex-employers Everton during the 2020/21 season within his first five outings.
Unfortunately, he hasn’t sparked into life as a similar goal machine just yet in West Yorkshire, with both the 2-2 draw against AFC Bournemouth and the loss to Tottenham Hotspur before the break seeing Calvert-Lewin spurn chances galore, instead of adding to his early Leeds tally.
Minutes played
89
90
Goals scored
0
0
Assists
0
0
Shots
3
2
Shots on target
3
1
Big chances missed
3
1
In all fairness, Calvert-Lewin is getting into some great positions to try and score – with nearly all of his efforts across the two league clashes being on target.
However, despite accumulating four on-target efforts, he failed to find the back of the net.
When the pressure is ramped up towards the back end of the season, Farke might not feel too comfortable relying on the Sheffield-born striker to deliver the goods, with ex-Leeds legend Nigel Martyn even once stating that Calvert-Lewin doesn’t strike him as a “natural finisher” when he was also spurning chances regularly on Merseyside.
With Joel Piroe also not Premier League-recognised in reserve, Leeds must now wish they could turn back time to a player who could easily take Calvert-Lewin’s number nine shirt from him.
Former Leeds star now worthy of the number 9 jersey
The 6-foot-2 striker’s difficulties in the injury department haven’t even been mentioned yet, with a worrying 21 games missed over his previous two seasons for Everton owing to extended periods in the treatment room.
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Former Thorp Arch prodigy Max Dean has also had his fair share of injury troubles since leaving West Yorkshire behind, with a cruciate ligament tear completely derailing a positive 2024/25 season for the promising Englishman in Belgium.
Still, when he has been fit, he has left Calvert-Lewin completely in the dust with his goal-scoring prowess.
Indeed, while Calvert-Lewin could only collect a meagre three goals all of last season, Dean was a man possessed for KAA Gent, with a blistering 13 strikes amassed from just 1,497 minutes of action.
Of course, injury disaster then struck, but with the former England youth international now edging ever closer to being back available for the Jupiler Pro League outfit, some regret must still be lingering that Leeds didn’t persist more with one of their own, considering he also put away a stunning 16 goals for their U23s from 38 total appearances.
Games played
73
Goals scored
33
Assists
7
Value when leaving
£700k
Value now
£4m
With a goal-heavy stint at MK Dons also under his belt, netting 20 in 43, it’s clear that Dean was prematurely let go by Leeds in 2023, having actually never made a senior outing.
As a marker of his impressive rise, his transfer value now stands at an impressive £4m according to Football Transfers. When he first made the switch to Milton Keynes, he was worth far less at an estimated £700k.
Dubbed as “special” player by his ex-Gent manager in Wouter Vrancken, the 21-year-old will just be aiming to get amongst the goals again for Gent when he’s finally fully fit, away from any talk that he could have stolen Calvert-Lewin’s number nine shirt if still at his boyhood side.
It’s sad, though, that Leeds has had such little bearing on his fledgling career in reality, as Farke now strives to get a tune out of Calvert-Lewin in tense games to come.
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