Leeds United striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin is proving vital to our form at the moment, and has caught the eye in the media.
It’s been a quiet five games leading the line for Dominic Calvert-Lewin. Aside from bullying his way into scoring against Man Utd, he’s been toiling up front with minimal service.
However, the experienced striker’s presence up front proves to be a vital part of what Leeds are trying to build in the Premier League.
Ian Wright heaps praise on Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s Leeds United role
Even when not scoring, it’s hard not to admire the work Calvert-Lewin puts in at Leeds. He’s quite obviously one of our most important players right now.
It’s the sort of influence that is admired by fellow strikers such as Ian Wright. The former Arsenal man was particularly impressed by the masterclass Calvert-Lewin put on at the Emirates last month, despite being on the losing side.
As the Stick to Football pundits discussed how to deal with physical strikers, the conversation shifted to Calvert-Lewin.
“It must be frustrating when you come up against really good players,” Roy Keane said. “And it goes up to you, and you think ‘I’ve got him, I think I have them there’, and they just have a nice little touch, and they go away from you. The real top players have that brilliant first touch.”
“You appreciate it when you see it. I watched Dominic Calvert-Lewin against Arsenal. It was a fantastic display of a number nine and getting the ball against two really robust, aggressive defenders,” Wright responded. “It was brilliant because you don’t see it anymore.”
“It was tough for Arsenal,” Gary Neville finished. “They were good Leeds.”
Leeds United to get consistent service into Dominic Calvert-Lewin
There’s no point sugarcoating our performances at the moment: our attack hasn’t been good enough.
But that doesn’t mean that Calvert-Lewin is doing anything much worse than previously. It means that Leeds’ structure and supply for the striker is currently faltering badly.
I do think getting Noah Okafor back up to speed as soon as possible is crucial. He’s been hugely important to our form in 2026, and it’s no surprise that our drop-off coincides with his ongoing fitness issues.
Calvert-Lewin, though, needs players much closer to him in support. It’s not working with him looking so isolated at the moment.
