I’ve watched Dominic Calvert-Lewin struggle for too long, there’s an easy fix Leeds are missing
Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s superb form for Leeds United has faded in recent weeks.
The striker has scored 10 goals in the Premier League this season, putting him sixth in the charts, level with Arsenal’s Viktor Gyokeres and Brighton’s Danny Welbeck.
However, he drew a blank during the 1-0 defeat by Manchester City at Elland Road last time out, having squandered a golden early opportunity from just a few yards out.
That glaring miss encapsulated a difficult, barren spell, and Daniel Farke is doing the frontman no favours either as he continues to overlook an easy fix to the problem.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s scoring drought in numbers
Simply, Leeds have been far too reliant on Calvert-Lewin.
As a result, they lack a cutting edge when his goals dry up, and in the heat of the Premier League, this is all too often the difference between a win and a loss.
The 28-year-old has failed to score in six of his last seven games, despite tirelessly chasing down every ball. He has been presented with good opportunities, but hasn’t taken them.
It is as though a switch has been flicked, resulting in a campaign of two distinct halves.
Indeed, he has just two goals from his last 10 matches, having netted seven times in his previous six.
Damningly, Calvert-Lewin has scored twice from his last 19 shots since the turn of the year – a dire 10.5 per cent conversion rate. That is nowhere near good enough.
Farke is persisting with him, confident that he will eventually rediscover his golden touch. But there is perhaps a more sensible fix guaranteed to give Calvert-Lewin more support.
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Leeds must play Lucas Nmecha with Calvert-Lewin
Leeds have been extremely flexible with their choice of formation this season, but the systems that pair Calvert-Lewin with a strike partner appear to benefit him the most.
Without bodies around him, the number nine has been forced to drop into deeper areas to hold up the ball, buying time for his team-mates to make runs out wide and through the middle.
In short, he is being asked to do too much, with his focus on all-around link play instead of poaching.
Lukas Nmecha has impressed when given opportunities, scoring six goals in 732 minutes in the Premier League, and he looks to be the ideal man to dovetail with Calvert-Lewin.
Between them, the duo would possess pace, brute force and an end product, making Leeds much more dangerous in the process. Joel Piroe can, of course, also be added to the mix.
It remains to be seen whether Farke rolls the dice, but he would do well to at least try it out.
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