Former Leeds United striker Ross McCormack has named the striker the club should have signed ahead of their expected deal for Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
England international Dominic Calvert-Lewin is expected to complete his free transfer to Leeds United in the coming days ahead of their first game back in the Premier League season.
Calvert-Lewin’s impending arrival is a significant boost for Leeds’ boss, Daniel Farke, who has made no secret of the need for new signings to bolster the club’s options in attack.
Ross McCormack knows exactly what it takes to score goals for Leeds, having scored a total of 53 goals in 144 games for the club, including 29 goals in all competitions in the 2013/14 season.
However, McCormack has doubts over Leeds’ move to sign Calvert-Lewin, as he named the Premier League striker they should have signed instead.
Ross McCormack celebrates a goal during Barnsley v Leeds United - Sky Bet Championship 2014
Photo by Tony Marshall/Getty Images
Ross McCormack delivers verdict on new Leeds United signing
Appearing as a guest on the TalkSport Breakfast Show on 14th August, McCormack raised his doubts over Leeds’ swoop to bring in Calvert-Lewin on a free transfer.
Although he believes a change of environment may be a positive development for Calvert-Lewin, McCormack believes Callum Wilson, who has scored 88 goals in the Premier League, would have been a safer signing.
McCormack said: “Sometimes a change of environment does a lot for players. He might go there, feel fresh, feel alive again. He might have felt maybe he was going a little bit stale at Everton towards the end, in the last couple of years.
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“But, if he’s fit, he will get chances. But, you know, it’s just whether he can stay fit and take those chances.
“I think for me, if I was going to go down that route, I would probably have preferred, I’ve said this before, that I would have liked Leeds to have gone and got Callum Wilson.”
How does Dominic Calvert-Lewin compare to Callum Wilson?
Wilson left Newcastle after five seasons, at the end of his contract, and eventually agreed a move to Leeds’ potential relegation rivals, West Ham, on what the London Evening Standard described as a “heavily incentive-based salary”.
Wilson and Calvert-Lewin have played exactly the same number of games in the Premier League to date, with 239 appearances each. Wilson outscores Calvert-Lewin comfortably in that period, with 88 goals to Calvert-Lewin’s 57.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Callum Wilson compared Dominic Calvert-Lewin Callum Wilson
Age 28 33
Premier League Appearances 239 239
PL Goals 57 88
PL Assists 15 23
2024/25 xG per 90 0.3 0.08
Most PL Goals in a season 16 18
The former Newcastle man also has the edge in the number of assists, with 23 in total, compared to 15 for Calvert-Lewin.
However, Calvert-Lewin’s xG per 90 minutes was significantly better than Wilson’s last season, according to FootyStats. The former Everton man averaged 0.3 xG per 90, to Wilson’s 0.08.
At 28 years old, Calvert-Lewin also has time on his side. Wilson is approaching the twilight of his career at 33 years old, and Leeds are right to hope that their impending signing has more to give in the remainder of his career.