Credit: Imago

Richie Mills

Fri 20 March 2026 13:10, UK

Dominic Calvert-Lewin will know that some of the credit for his England recall must go to Leeds United boss Daniel Farke.

Thomas Tuchel named the 29-year-old in his England squad for their upcoming friendlies against Uruguay and Japan.

That ended a spell of more than five years without getting the nod for his country, with Tuchel rewarding him for his form for Leeds this season.

Calvert-Lewin had options but opted to sign for Leeds on a free transfer last summer after running down his contract at Everton.

He himself said a phone call with Farke persuaded him to head to Leeds last August. And while he deserves a lot of credit for getting back into the Three Lions picture, the German played his part, too.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin earns England recall

When Tuchel announced Calvert-Lewin’s England inclusion, the former Chelsea boss outlined why the striker had been picked, with contenders Ollie Watkins and Danny Welbeck missing out.

He told reporters on Friday: “Dominic has been out for a long-time due to injury, but he’s had a good season with Leeds United. He’s decisive and also a good penalty taker.

“I want to see what these players are capable of, to understand how they can contribute, particularly with set pieces, using their strength and height. This helps me learn about them.”

While he did just miss a penalty against Crystal Palace on Sunday, he has scored 10 of his 12 spot-kicks in his career.

Leeds have been able to play to Calvert-Lewin’s strengths this season, with the striker rediscovering the swagger he showed during his best seasons at Everton. But had it not been for Farke’s strong pitch and man-management, things could have been very different.

He told The Athletic on Tuesday: “He called me two days before I signed. We spoke for quite a while about Leeds as a club, what it means to play there and the environment around it. He spoke about watching my progression over the last few years and said he felt I still had more to give in the game.

“But he also spoke to me on a human level. He wasn’t just speaking to the footballer — he was speaking to Dominic the person. That’s the type of manager I like to work with. I just had that feeling in my stomach that this was the guy I wanted to go and play for.”

Calvert-Lewin has spearheaded an attack that has also had valuable contributions from fellow forward Lukas Nmecha and attacking midfielder Brenden Aaronson.

Leeds will need all of them fit and firing for the rest of the season. But for now, Calvert-Lewin can focus on ending his four-game goalless streak against Brentford on Saturday and potentially playing for England again this month.

Nervous wait for Leeds fans over Calvert-Lewin

Calvert-Lewin will be thrilled at this England call but many Leeds fans’ first thoughts would have been about the possibility of him picking up an injury on international duty.

When Calvert-Lewin joined Leeds, there were quite a few grumblings amongst the fanbase that they had signed a declining player who was too injury-prone.

But so far, he has been anything but that, with Leeds’ medical team doing a great job of managing his schedule.

Calvert-Lewin has had a good scoring rate during his England career, but his last cap came way back in 2021.

For his country, he has scored against Wales, the Republic of Ireland, and a brace against San Marino.

He will hope to add to that tally against Uruguay next Friday and Japan on 31 March. And if he does well, a World Cup place this summer could be in the offing.