Leeds United striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin has been a huge back behind the Whites’ success this season and their potential survival in the Premier League.
The 28-year-old joined the club on a free transfer and had a lot to prove after the last few seasons at Everton, when he struggled with form and injuries.
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Calvert-Lewin has provided an emphatic statement of his quality with 10 league goals this season for Leeds. No English player has scored more than him in the Premier League.
The Leeds forward is being backed to return to the England squad just before the World Cup, but some detractors feel others have a stronger claim to be Harry Kane’s understudy in the summer than Calvert-Lewin.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin has a chance to expose one England rival at Villa Park
The Leeds striker has been one of the in-form strikers of the Premier League, and his performances deserve more credit as he has been playing for a resilient but limited bottom-half side.
He has not played for England since 2021, and other strikers have leapfrogged ahead of him over the last few years, when he has struggled with injuries.
However, ahead of the World Cup next summer, the 28-year-old has made a strong claim to return to the national team squad with his performances in the Premier League.
But Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins is believed to be ahead of Calvert-Lewin despite not scoring as many goals as the Leeds striker, despite playing for a side vying for Champions League football.
Watkins’ recent performances in tournaments and continued selection for England put him ahead of the Leeds forward in the World Cup selection.
However, Calvert-Lewin could expose his rival today if he scores and helps Leeds get a result against a good Aston Villa side in the Midlands on Saturday.
England boss Thomas Tuchel could get a direct contrast between the two strikers, and this is the Leeds star’s chance to prove why he deserves a spot in the squad ahead of the Aston Villa man.
Calvert-Lewin has been better than Watkins this season
Thomas Tuchel isn’t expected to name his next England squad until next month, when the national side comes together again for a pair of friendlies, one of which will see them take on Marcelo Bielsa’s Uruguay.
There’s still a fair bit of football to be played before Tuchel makes his final decisions, and that gives a few players the chance to really stake their claim. Dominic Calvert-Lewin, for one, is in excellent form right now.
Stat Dominic Calvert-Lewin Ollie Watkins
Games Played 25 36
Goals 10 8
Assists 1 1
Minutes Played 1,755 2,361
Minutes Per Goal 175.5 295.1
He looks sharper and more confident than he has in a long time, and if he can stay fit and keep scoring, it’ll only increase the pressure on Tuchel to include him.
Ollie Watkins, meanwhile, seems to have found his rhythm at just the right moment after a difficult first half of the campaign. However, he has remained wildly inconsistent despite playing for a Champions League-chasing side.