Leeds United striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin has scored once in the Premier League ahead of Spurs’ visit to Elland Road.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin has been handed the number-nine shirt at Leeds United this season, and the starting role as the focal point of the attack is now his to lose.
Calvert-Lewin destroyed Spurs the last time facing them. Despite only scoring once for his new club after leaving Everton, Calvert-Lewin’s stats have been positive for Leeds and Daniel Farke so far.
There are other ways to measure a striker’s performance than just looking at the goal column, with the 28-year-old able to lead the line, pin the opposition, and be a persistent nuisance in the white, yellow, and blue of Leeds.
That said, the Leeds striker’s goal set records against Wolves. We also all know how vital goals and output can be to a team, even if his overall impact on the team as a whole is evident outside of scoring regularly.
Daniel Farke addresses Dominic Calvert-Lewin substitution timing
Calvert-Lewin may well have been ‘bang average’ against Fulham, but Andoni Iraola felt as though Calvert-Lewin wreaked havoc against Bournemouth.
Calvert-Lewin is a real handful at his very best, capable of holding the ball up, glueing the attack together, and making Leeds’ attacks stick as an outlet for players to go more directly into.
If he isn’t scoring, he needs to be doing that at the very least. That’s because Calvert-Lewin is Leeds’ highest-paid player. He’s getting sharper by the game, as evidenced by the timing of his substitution on Saturday last weekend.
In all competitions, the England international centre-forward has made five appearances for Leeds. He played no pre-season games for Leeds or Everton, which is why he came off the bench against both Sheffield Wednesday and Newcastle United.
His first start came away to Fulham, while the striker managed 89 minutes of both the Wolverhampton Wanderers and Bournemouth fixtures in a row now.
Despite that, there were questions over why Farke subbed Calvert-Lewin when he did against Bournemouth. It was moments before a defensive set-piece which the visitors scored from.
Despite that fact, speaking via Beren Cross, Farke doubled down on the decision. He said: “I normally never make a sub when the other team has the ball. The game was hectic. One free-kick to defend.
“I have a sub to make that allows everyone to regroup. Lukas [Nmecha] has the same skills as Dominic. Can make sure everyone is focused on defending this one long ball.”
Farke does not address the fact that Calvert-Lewin is formidable in the air, and that is not just regarding attacking set-pieces but defending them as well.
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Are Leeds United getting as much from Calvert-Lewin as they can?
Calvert-Lewin had other offers but he chose Leeds. In many ways so far, they have been a good fit. Leeds have. predominantly, played to his strengths with direct passes into him, which help to get the whole team up the pitch.
However, it’s also fair to say that Calvert-Lewin would benefit from one tactical tweak at Leeds. Leeds have rarely got to the byline for cutbacks, which is something the 6’3″ striker thrives on.
He’s also a magnificent player when heading the ball, but Leeds can get more goals out of him by making that change. The types of chances he currently gets are far less suited to where he wants to be shooting the ball from.
Per FotMob, only two players have missed more big chances than Calvert-Lewin already. When you consider how few minutes he has played so far, it puts it into perspective.
Alongside Antoine Semenyo, Calvert-Lewin has missed four. The only players ahead of that are Jean-Phillipe Mateta (five) and Erling Haaland (six).
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