Leeds United have reached an agreement in principle to sign Dominic Calvert-Lewin on a free after his contract with Everton expired at the end of June, but it’s fair to say that some fans have taken the news better than others.
The 28-year-old striker still had to get through a medical at Thorp Arch today, which is why I worded the last paragraph quite carefully, rather than announcing it as a done deal! He spent nine years at Goodison Park after joining the Toffees from Sheffield United in 2016, and scored 71 goals in 274 appearances.
His best spell at Everton was came under Carlo Ancelloti around 2021, when his form took him into the England side, and he scored four goals in his 11 international appearances. He’s a Yorkshire lad, being originally from Sheffield, but naturally developed an affection for Everton during his years on Merseyside.
When he announced his decision not to accept a new contract there he took to on Instagram to say "This isn’t something I chose lightly. Everton has been my home since I was 19 years old. It’s the place that saw potential in me, challenged me to grow, and shaped me both as a footballer and as a man.”
His decision to leave was in part prompted by the thought that he would be the second or third choice striker as Everton refreshed their squad, but it might also be down to being told he would have to take a cut in his reported £130k per week that he was on. Which brings us to his recent injury record, which has limited him to only 17 Premier League goals in the last four seasons.
All of which has led to a healthy debate on social media. One comment was that "He’s only 28 and coming into his peak. If he stays fit would be a good addition”. But the inevitable reply was that the word ‘if’ was doing a lot of heavy lifting in that sentence! A few fans thought that with him being on a free and with no agent’s fees to pay (as DCL did the negotiation himself) he will be worth the risk.
But more than a few have been a little more scathing. "The perfect Bamford replacement. Takes up that ‘permanently injured’ spot in the squad.” And "This is an outstandingly horrific signing . The guy is made of chocolate and last scored goals regularly five years ago ".
Also "So to replace the current injury prone centre forward deemed not good enough for the Premier League, Leeds’ strategy is to sign two new injury prone forwards who’ve barely made an impact for their previous clubs for the last 2 seasons.” Ouch!
The last post is obviously a reference to Bamford and also to Nmecha, though the former is still at the club at the moment, as nobody has yet swooped to take him off our hands, now that his wages have been restored to their Premier League level. I’ve got a cunning plan. We can hope that the trio are injured at different times, so that we always have at least one of them available.
One or two Everton fans have posted some useful insights, and they think that a lot of his injury problems have been down to being rushed back too soon by different managers, due to their desperation in the midst of several relegation battles. One also said "Calvert-Lewin is that rare combination of pace, strength and aerial dominance, but his big weakness is that he’s not a natural goalscorer.”
"Normally he needs 3-4 chances to convert. He’s good in the air and can hold up the ball well but he won’t create many of his own chances.” But they were kind enough to wish him good luck for the rest of his career, though presumably not when he has an immediate reunion with his former club in the first game of the season.
So is this the end of our recruitment up front, or are we still hoping to land an expensive main striker before the window shuts? Our pursuit of Rodrigo Muniz may now be over, as Sky Sport Italia have reported that Atalanta have bid €40m, but Fulham have turned down even that figure. But the secretive 49ers may yet have something up their sleeve, so watch this space.