'Change was needed' - Dominic Calvert-Lewin lifts lid on new lease of life at Leeds United and Everton exit
Dominic Calvert-Lewin has lifted the lid on his new lease of life at Leeds United - and the end of his lengthy association with Everton.
The forward turned 29 yesterday (March 16) and has been rolling back the years with his exploits this season.
Many doubted whether he was capable of emulating the form he displayed at Everton between 2019 and 2021, the form that catapulted him into the England set-up.
However, having shaken off injury woes, the marksman has contributed 10 goals to Leeds’ battle for Premier League survival. Perhaps more pertintently, he has been a persistent threat with his movement and link play.
Swapping Everton for Leeds was a bold decision - but one that appears to have paid off.
Everton exit and Daniel Farke influence
He told The Athletic: “Everton were very good to me, and I believe I was good to Everton. But I think mutually it got to a point where a change was needed.
“The longer the summer went on, the more I felt the pull to stay in England and stay in the Premier League.”
Leeds manager Daniel Farke was influential in the getting a deal to sign Calvert-Lewin completed amid competition from elsewhere.
The forward said: “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.”
England recall hope
England boss Thomas Tuchel is currently in the process of selecting a squad that will take on Uruguay and Japan in friendly matches later this month.
Competition for places in the Three Lions set-up is fierce but Calvert-Lewin has his sights firmly set on a call-up. He has not featured for England since 2021, when he picked up the most recent of his 11 caps in the Euro 2020 quarter-final win over Ukraine.
He said: “There was a moment when I had to accept I might not play for England again. A year ago, people probably wouldn’t have expected me to be in this position, but I always believed it was possible if the timing was right and if I did the work.
“Just to be having the conversation again about an England call-up means a lot. The longer it’s gone since I last played for England, the more I’ve appreciated how special it was.
“I’d love my daughter to see her dad play for England. That’s a huge motivation for me.”