After the deadline passed at the end of the summer transfer window, Leeds United did not have the attacking depth that Daniel Farke wanted in the squad.
Journalist Graham Smyth noted that the manager revealed that it would be “difficult” for the club to avoid relegation if they did not add to their attacking options, and they did not.
The 49ers left it too late and had no back-up options when a deal for Harry Wilson fell through on deadline day, which meant that they ended the window with Noah Okafor as their only signing out wide.
Okafor, who was signed from AC Milan for £18m, was the only attacking signing who was signed for a transfer fee, as the club did not sign another winger, attacking midfielder, or striker from another club for a fee.
Lucas Nmecha and Dominic Calvert-Lewin were the only two other attacking signings made by the club during the summer transfer window, and both of them arrived on free transfers.
Calvert-Lewin joined on a free transfer from Premier League mainstays Everton in the summer after his contract with the Toffees expired, and Leeds need more from him.
Why Leeds need more from Dominic Calvert-Lewin
The 11-cap England international has played 245 matches in the Premier League, per Transfermarkt, for Everton and Leeds combined in his career, which shows that he is a hugely experienced player at the level.
His experience does shine through in his physical output. The towering striker has won 4.7 duels per game and won 42% of his aerial duels in the top-flight, per Sofascore, whilst Joel Piroe, for example, has won 0.5 duels per match and won 20% of his aerial duels.
This shows that he is providing an outlet at the top end of the pitch for Leeds to hit when they are under pressure, which is why Farke is right to continue to select him over Piroe, who is a lightweight out of possession.
However, Calvert-Lewin needs to offer more in front of goal for the West Yorkshire outfit, as his header in the clip above is his only goal for the club to date.
The £100k-per-week centre-forward has missed five ‘big chances’ in five starts in the Premier League, whilst he also missed four ‘big chances’ in the League Cup against Sheffield Wednesday on his debut.
Jean-Philippe Mateta
10
5
Erling Haaland
8
11
Dominic Calvert-Lewin
5
1
Viktor Gyokeres
4
3
Antoine Semenyo
4
6
As you can see in the table above, Calvert-Lewin is third in the Premier League for ‘big chances’ missed this season, but he does not boast the goal tally that the players around him in that list have.
Missing chances is not the end of the world for a striker if they are still scoring goals, as Erling Haaland and Jean-Philippe Mateta are doing, but the Leeds striker is not scoring enough goals to make up for his misses.
This is why Farke needs more from the experienced number nine. For all the good work he is doing physically, Calvert-Lewin must step up and provide goals to win points for the team.
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The longer his struggles in front of goal continue, the more Leeds may regret how they ended up in a position where Mateo Joseph had to be axed from the squad in the summer.
Per the striker’s comments, Farke told him that he would not be counted on in the Premier League, which led to a loan move to LaLiga outfit Mallorca.
Why Leeds must regret loaning out Mateo Joseph
The Spain U21 international came through the youth ranks at Thorp Arch to score six goals in 73 first-team matches for Leeds, per Transfermarkt, whilst mainly coming off the bench.
Journalist Phil Hay even said that Joseph was “starting to look a little bit like Archie Gray” at the end of the 2023/24 campaign, as the young striker was “becoming a really big impact player off the bench” in the same season that Gray stepped up before his £30m move to Tottenham Hotspur.
Unfortunately, Farke did not have faith that the Spaniard would be able to make the step up to the Premier League, which is why he was sent out on loan to Mallorca.
His form in LaLiga since being sent out on loan may be frustrating for supporters, because his current performance level suggests that he would be an upgrade on Calvert-Lewin at Elland Road.
The Leeds academy graduate has won 47% of his ground duels and 37% of his overall duels across eight appearances in LaLiga, per Sofascore, which shows that he has handled the physicality of one of Europe’s major leagues well.
On top of showing good physicality in his performances, Joseph has also scored two goals in four starts in LaLiga for Mallorca, twice as many goals as Calvert-Lewin has managed in the Premier League.
Appearances
6
8
Starts
5
4
Duels won per game
4.7
2.4
Duel success rate
38%
37%
Goals
1
2
Big chances missed
5
2
Assists
0
1
Penalties won
0
1
As you can see in the table above, the 22-year-old marksman has scored twice as many goals, provided one more assist, and won one more penalty than the Leeds forward this season.
Meanwhile, Calvert-Lewin has only won a slightly higher percentage of his physical duels, which suggests that Joseph would not be a significant downgrade in that respect.
Therefore, Leeds must regret binning the Spanish forward in the summer, because Farke did not trust him, as he is now outperforming Calvert-Lewin in another major European league.
His return of two goals with only two ‘big chances’ missed suggests that he is the clinical marksman that Leeds are sorely lacking in their team right now, after they failed to score any of the four ‘big chances’ they had against Burnley on Saturday.
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Farke and Leeds will now be hoping that Calvert-Lewin can turn his form around and start to show why the club were willing to move Joseph on to go with him as their main number nine.