Leeds United have finally signed the striker their fans so desperately craved after the club confirmed the arrival of Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
The former Everton man has agreed a three-year deal which will keep him at Elland Road until 2028, having scored 57 goals in 239 Premier League appearances to date.
Calvert-Lewin’s arrival helps ease growing concerns over the options available to Daniel Farke in attack, with the departure of Joe Gelhardt and Mateo Joseph already confirmed, and Patrick Bamford expected to follow.
As such, Farke was heading into Leeds’ season opener against Everton with just Joel Piroe and Lukas Nmecha as recognised options up front, backed by 16-year-old Harry Gray.
With the deal for Calvert-Lewin now confirmed, here are the winners and losers from the deal.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin shushes Leeds United fans during a game in 2021.
Photo by Jan Kruger/Getty Images
Leeds United winners from the Dominic Calvert-Lewin deal:
Daniel Farke
Daniel Farke has spoken openly about Leeds’ need for attacking reinforcements after a solid but uninspiring pre-season campaign ended with a third draw against top-class opposition, thanks to Anton Stach’s goal against AC Milan.
Whilst Leeds remain in the market and have been linked with a late swoop for Noah Okafor, Calvert-Lewin’s arrival eases some of the pressure on Leeds’ paper-thin forward line.
Whilst rarely prolific in his career, Calvert-Lewin has proven that he can lead the line in the top flight and has experience in the Premier League, which neither Piroe nor Nmecha have.
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Leeds still have work to do to turn a decent transfer window into an outstanding one for Farke. Calvert-Lewin’s arrival is the next step towards this.
Harry Gray
Although Calvert-Lewin’s arrival may be seen as a negative development for talented Leeds forward Harry Gray, it could be a perfectly timed arrival in his fledgling career.
Gray made his debut for the Whites at the end of their promotion campaign and has been a regular part of the first-team squad in pre-season.
Realistically, Farke would have been very reluctant to go into the new season with a teenager with one first-team appearance to his name as his fourth-choice striker in the top flight.
Now, Gray has the opportunity to learn from an international striker with significant Premier League experience. Calvert-Lewin is strong in the air, and his hold-up play is strong, which are important aspects of striker play that Gray can learn from.
Although his arrival may limit Gray’s immediate chances of making his Premier League debut, in hindsight, it could represent an important phase in his development.
Leeds United v Villarreal CF - Pre-Season Friendly
Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images
Dominic Calvert-Lewin
Whilst it may be stating the obvious to include Calvert-Lewin in a list of winners from his transfer, his move to Leeds does represent something of a lifeline in his career.
Having peaked with 16 goals in the 2020/21 season, the former Everton man has only scored more than five goals in a season once, in 2023/24.
Calvert-Lewin has openly stated his ambition to be considered as one of Europe’s elite players, but a lack of form and fitness in recent years has damaged his reputation.
A move to Leeds gives him the chance to re-establish himself as a force in the Premier League. At 28 years old, he still has plenty to offer, and this could benefit both himself and the club.
Leeds United losers from the Dominic Calvert-Lewin deal:
Lukas Nmecha
Having joined Leeds from Wolfsburg in June 2025, Lukas Nmecha may not have been expecting to be Leeds’ first-choice striker in the new season.
However, he would have hoped to be in regular contention for a spot in Leeds’ first-team squad as he looks to add to his seven Germany caps, having earned his last one in 2022.
With Premier League sides now able to carry a nine-man bench, Nmecha should still feature regularly as a substitute in the new season.
But Calvert-Lewin’s arrival pushes him definitively into third place in the pecking order to be Leeds’ centre-forward this season.
Lukas Nmecha playing for Leeds.
Photo by Linnea Rheborg/Getty Images
Patrick Bamford
All good things must come to an end, and after seven years with Leeds, Patrick Bamford looks set to depart Elland Road.
In many ways, Bamford and Calvert-Lewin’s careers have followed parallel tracks in recent years, as both reached a peak in the 2020/21 season before form and fitness deserted them.
However, at 31 years of age, Leeds appear to have decided that Bamford does not retain the same upside as Calvert-Lewin, who is three years his junior.
With Bamford now sitting below Gray in Farke’s plans, the former England man must move on in order to play regular first-team football.