(Credit: Imago)

Jacob Raw

Wed 18 March 2026 12:40, UK

Dominic Calvert-Lewin has seen his attacking output fall off a cliff at Leeds United recently, and the 49ers may now pay the price for their own incompetence.

The Whites drew 0-0 with Crystal Palace on Sunday, as Calvert-Lewin missed a crucial penalty moments before Gabriel Gudmundsson was shown a second yellow card.

Leeds will have felt like they could have taken the three points back to LS11, had their number nine found the back of the net, with the threat of relegation from the Premier League still clear.

Daniel Farke wanted a striker in the winter market, but it always felt like the 49ers banked on Calvert-Lewin to deliver the goods all season long.

49ers had £30m plus to spend to ensure survival in winter market

Calvert-Lewin wants to get an England call-up for the squad that Thomas Tuchel takes to North America for the World Cup this summer.

It looked like the Whites’ main man had a great chance of actually receiving the phone call at one point, but his five-game run without a goal is becoming a problem.

• Calvert-Lewin’s last goal came in the 3-1 win over Nottingham Forest
• That game was five weeks ago now

The 49ers lodged a £30million plus bid to sign Jorgen Strand Larsen from Wolves in January, but were outmatched by Crystal Palace’s offer in the end.

While it’s understandable that Paraag Marathe and Co. didn’t have the capacity to push for Strand Larsen in the end, they made it public that they had £30m to spend in the first place.

Now, choosing to keep that money pocketed could turn out to be a damaging decision for both Leeds and the 49ers’ financial prospects beyond this campaign.

That’s because Calvert-Lewin looks to be slipping back into his old form, which may not be enough to help the Whites stay in the top-flight.

How does Daniel Farke get Calvert-Lewin back into form?

Calvert-Lewin has got 10 Premier League goals to his name, and it’s easy to say now, but any Leeds fan would have snapped your hands off for that at the start of the season from him.

Even if he doesn’t score from now until the end of the campaign, he would still be seen as a successful signing, considering he came to Elland Road for free.

The 29-year-old has been Leeds’ main source of goals, and Farke must get him back scoring. But how does he do it?

Well, the German head coach needs to stick by him first of all, but he also needs to keep playing the striker in a pairing with Lukas Nmecha.

The duo only rekindled their partnership for the first time in a while against Palace, and it’s what got Calvert-Lewin into the conversation for an England spot in the first place.