Leeds United are being rewarded for the transfer risk they took on Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
Alan Shearer insists Leeds United have one of the best strikers around in free agent signing Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
Leeds took a risk on Calvert-Lewin’s fitness when signing him in the summer and have been rewarded, with the 28-year-old on 10 Premier League goals from 24 games. More impressive is the striker’s record of not missing a single league match through injury, his recent absence at Chelsea coming as a result of illness.
Calvert-Lewin wasn’t at his best during Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Aston Villa but during a window in which huge money was spent on strikers, his free transfer feels like a bargain. Only one fellow summer 2025 arrival has more than the Leeds man’s 10 goals, with Chelsea’s Joao Pedro on 11 while Arsenal’s Viktor Gyokeres and Hugo Ekitike of Liverpool are also on 10.
Gyokeres was among four players name-checked by Alan Shearer on The Rest Is Football as he discussed the struggles of some big-money strikers. Alongside the Swede were Benjamin Sesko, Nick Woltemade and Yoane Wissa who moved in the summer for a whopping £261million combined - but according to the all-time Premier League top-scorer, Leeds’ free agent is as good as any.
“Gary, you mentioned earlier about all the strikers and how much money has been paid with Sesko, Woltemade, Wissa, Gyokeres and all these guys,” Shearer told The Rest Is Football. “One of the best around, and he has been for a while, is Calvert-Lewin. They took a punt on him and he’s a handful. It was just staying fit that had been the problem.”
Gary Lineker agrees on Dominic Calvert-Lewin fitness verdict
Leeds have done an incredible job keeping Calvert-Lewin fit, with manager Daniel Farke regularly insisting his medical staff are already at Champions League level. The former Everton man has picked up one injury so far this season but an ankle knock was only enough to see him come off the bench at Nottingham Forest in November instead of starting.
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“He just needed to stay fit didn’t he?” Gary Lineker added. “There was always potential and ability there, he was always excellent in the air. A good all-round centre-forward but he’s had some bad luck with injuries in the last few seasons. So good luck to him, let's hope he stays fit.”
Calvert-Lewin is not the only bargain Leeds secured last summer, with his main competitor for the No.9 role Lukas Nmecha also arriving for free. The former VfL Wolfsburg man has done virtually everything asked of him in the back-up role, scoring an impressive seven goals across all competitions.
Nmecha also arrived in West Yorkshire with what Farke would call an ‘injury CV’ but has been kept largely fit, missing only a handful of games across two brief spells out. Most importantly, Leeds have never been without both of their summer striker arrivals during a given gameweek and have 11 more Premier League matches to keep it that way.
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