Ex-Leeds United striker names one thing Daniel Farke must do with Dominic Calvert-Lewin
Leeds United will hope to utilise their summer transfer's experience and physicality during their Premier League survival bid.
Former Leeds United striker Brian Deane has backed Dominic Calvert-Lewin to make a positive impact at Elland Road - so long as Daniel Farke can keep him fit.
Leeds secured Calvert-Lewin’s signature earlier this month following the expiration of his Everton contract at the end of June, with the 28-year-old arriving on a free transfer. He made his debut for the Whites on Tuesday evening, albeit in a disappointing Carabao Cup defeat to Championship strugglers Sheffield Wednesday.
Questions have been raised over Calvert-Lewin’s fitness record, with injuries littering the striker’s nine-year spell at previous club Everton. But recent campaigns have been a little better, with an average of over 2,000 minutes in each of the last two seasons evidence of decent availability.
Asked whether Calvert-Lewin is a good signing for Leeds, Deane told 32Red: “Yeah, I think so. Everyone was saying that they need to strengthen the front line and he has got Premier League experience which I think you need.
“I don’t think that you can come up from The Championship and just rely on what you had in The Championship, and unless you’re getting a top, top player from abroad, it’s a gamble thinking as it takes some getting used to the pace of the Premier League, the quality of the defending and the organisation. I think it was important to bring a forward in.
“People will always talk about Dom’s injury record, but he’s only 28 and we talk about sports science and managing people’s individual strength and conditioning, and the club need to make a program around that. If we can keep him fit, then we’ve got a forward who was playing for England a few years ago and scoring for England.
“I think it’s a good bit of business, and don’t think there’s a lot of jeopardy in it for Leeds. He’s come on a free transfer and he has the attributes that can be very useful to a young Leeds United team. I think it’s a great signing.”
Premier League survival the goal for Leeds United
Calvert-Lewin was the eighth new signing to arrive in West Yorkshire this summer, with Noah Okafor and James Justin following up as Leeds’ summer spending rose above £100m. But there are still obvious areas of weakness in the squad which highlights the massive gap 49ers Enterprises need to bridge in order to become an established Premier League side.
Profitability and Sustainability rules (PSR) make it virtually impossible for newly-promoted sides to bridge that gap in one summer but Leeds will hope survival this season can lay the foundations for another summer of improvement. And Deane believes that should be the one and only goal.
“I think the sad thing from a Leeds point of view is that they’ve not been able to get any traction, as when they go up they can’t compete with the teams with money coming in from the Premier League,” Deane added. “The first thing is to make sure that they can stay in the Premier League, that’s the overriding mission for the season. I just hope they can get enough traction and build a squad that can compete and give the fans something to get behind them.”