Leeds United boss Daniel Farke has explained why he is not concerned by a lack of goals from Dominic Calvert-Lewin as his side prepares to face Nottingham Forest in the Premier League.
Daniel Farke is sweating over the fitness of one of his main summer signings, as Dominic Calvert-Lewin looks to recover from a mild adductor strain in time to face Nottingham Forest.
Calvert-Lewin has come under scrutiny since joining Leeds, having scored just one goal in their fight for Premier League survival so far this season.
Despite his lack of goals, Calvert-Lewin plays a crucial role in Leeds’ system, and it would be a blow to Farke if he is not available for the relegation battle against Sean Dyche’s side.
Now, as Farke waits to see if his number nine will be fit for Leeds’ assault on the City Ground, he has explained why goals are not the most important part of Calvert-Lewin’s game.
Erling Haaland Applauds fans after Manchester City v Everton - Premier League
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Daniel Farke does not expect Dominic Calvert-Lewin to match Erling Haaland
Speaking in his weekly press conference as he attempts to become the first Leeds manager since Don Revie to win a top-flight game at the City Ground, Farke defended Calvert-Lewin’s lack of goals this season.
According to Farke, although he needs some goals from the centre forward, he is more focused on staying in the Premier League than seeing his striker pick up the Golden Boot.
Farke said: “We are a newly promoted side and you wouldn’t expect a newly promoted side to be able to create as many chances as Man City do for Erling Haaland.
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“Of course, it’s always a bit easier for a striker to play a side that is just dominating game after game, but our strikers are fully aware of our position.
“And for us, we just have one target, and we don’t want to win the Golden Boot during the season. We just want to win the Golden Prize of staying in this league. For that, of course, each and every striker wants to score goals.
He added: “But the main thing is that we are successful as a team, and Dominic, for example, has helped a lot. Of course, with the goal, he won us three points, exactly like Lukas Nmecha’s goal, for example, won us three points against Everton.
Before concluding: “I think we have scored several goals, also created many, many good chances, could have been a bit more clinical also in a few situations. Also, Dominic could have been a bit more clinical, but overall, I’m very, very happy with what he delivers, with his experience, with his all-around game.”
Dominic Calvert-Lewin applauds fans after Burnley v Leeds United - Premier League
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What Leeds United star can learn from Erling Haaland
With 10 games of the 2025/26 Premier League season now complete, Haaland and Calvert-Lewin have had contrasting seasons in front of goal.
However, Calvert-Lewin can learn from the Manchester City striker as he looks to add more end product to his game.
Although Haaland tops the scoring charts this season with 13 Premier League goals to his name, the Man City man has also missed the most big chances in the league with 10, according to FotMob.
Premier League Metric Dominic Calvert-Lewin Erling Haaland
Goals 1 13
Shots 15 43
Shots on Target 7 25
Shot Conversion Rate 6.7% 30.2%
Expected Goals 1.8 10.25
The main difference between Calvert-Lewin and Haaland is in their conversion rate, with the Norwegian converting 30.2% of his shots to Calvert-Lewin’s 6.7%.
All strikers miss chances, as Haaland’s statistics from this season show. However, with a conversion rate under 7%, Calvert-Lewin is going to need a lot of chances to reach the number of goals Leeds need to stay in the top flight.