Leeds United put up a valiant effort in their game against Arsenal over the weekend, in which they lost 2-1.
Alan Shearer was full of praise for the way Daniel Farke’s men made life difficult for the reigning champions when analysing the game on Match of the Day.
There were plenty of players for Leeds who put in outstanding performances, and they were incredibly unfortunate to not get at least a point for their efforts.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin was among those United players who put in an impressive display at the Emirates. This provided further evidence that Gabby Agbonlahor’s take on our talisman couldn’t be further from the truth.
Gabby Agbonlahor’s Dominic Calvert-Lewin claim ages like milk
Over the course of the international break, Calvert-Lewin won two more England caps. The 29-year-old made cameo appearances against Spain and the Czech Republic.
However, during the international break, Agbonlahor claimed that Calvert-Lewin is not good enough to play for England. He also said that Liam Delap should replace him in the squad.
At the time, this was a puzzling thing to say when considering Calvert-Lewin had four goals to his name in all competitions whilst Delap had scored just once since his £50million move from Chelsea to Nottingham Forest over the summer.
Now, the two strikers’ performances over the weekend added further credence to why Agbonlahor has got this one so wrong.
Despite not even having a shot, Calvert-Lewin was exceptional against Arsenal. His hold-up play was a vital reason as to why Leeds were able to get up the pitch in that game. He did the dirty work that was required when we knew our back would be up against the wall at times.
Delap, on the other hand? Well, the 23-year-old was unable to bag his second goal of the season against Crystal Palace. However, during that game he produced what is sure to be one of the misses of the season.
Delap was less than six yards out when a ball ricocheted off the crossbar and perfectly into his path. But he was unable to guide his volley past Walter Benitez in the Palace goal.
Leeds did well to avoid Liam Delap for £50million
Delap was a name who was linked with a move to Elland Road over the course of the summer, but considering he ended up joining Forest for £50million, we did the right thing by not signing him.
We’re certainly not in a position where we can be spending that much on a player who is not even an upgrade on what Daniel Farke currently has at his disposal in Calvert-Lewin.
We know that since November, Calvert-Lewin has been one of the most efficient finishers around, and we’d have all put our money on him gobbling up the chance that Delap squandered over the weekend, which had an xG of 0.68 per Sofascore.
For such a hefty price tag, Forest would’ve also liked to see Delap score more than just the single goal in his opening five games.
When you also consider the fact he scored just one Premier League goal last season too, it was a deal that was way too risky for United to get involved in.
Is Delap a talented player with potential? Yes.
But was he also massively overpriced by Chelsea in the summer? Also yes.
For these reasons, it didn’t make sense for us to sign him. And the fact that Agbonlahor said he should be in the England squad over Calvert-Lewin right now is just comical.