Thomas Tuchel faces a number of selection dilemmas ahead of England’s journey to North America for next year’s World Cup, with the question of who should deputise for Harry Kane among the most pressing.
Because that’s what they would be. The only way Kane doesn’t start every game for England next summer is if he’s injured, that’s how good he’s been for club and country so far this season. 33 goals in 30 games since for both is undeniable.
England aren’t exactly blessed with a wealth of striker options beyond Kane, though, and one man that is playing himself into the conversation is Leeds’ Dominic Calvert-Lewin. Here is why taking 28-year-old isn’t such a bad idea after all.
Exactly what Leeds were crying out for
The West Yorkshire club have had probably the hardest run over fixtures in the Premier League over the past couple of weeks. Leeds have had to face Man City, Cheslea, Liverpool, and an away trip to Brentford over their last four games.
Calvert-Lewin has scored in all four of them. Leeds’ biggest issue since gaining promotion back to the English top flight was sticking the ball in the back of the net, yes, it’s a little more complicated than that, but before this most recent run of fixtures, they had only scored 11 goals.
Now, they’re the highest scoring side in the bottom five, and the highest scoring promoted side with one more than high-flying Sunderland. So Leeds and Calvert-Lewin are both finding for at exactly the right time, they’re no longer looking as doomed as they once did.
Leeds have played a 5-3-2 across their last four games, with Calvert-Lewin acting as more of a focal point while Noah Okafor or Lukas Nmecha, who is out until January with a hamstring injury, drop a little deeper to link up play.
Analysing Calvert-Lewin’s last four goals, they haven’t been very pretty, but it’s the position he gets in that make them. They’re all very central, very close to the goal, hence why he has five total from an xG of 5.03.
He’s a poacher, a real fox in the box. Calvert-Lewin isn’t going to dribble past five opposition defenders before chipping it over the goalkeeper, he’s going to hang around and wait for his moment. At the very least, that adds a different dynamic to England other striker options.
Who else do England have?
It’s not exactly a who’s who of top level or in-form strikers Tuchel can call upon at the moment. Beside Kane, the highest scorer is Danny Welbeck with seven, but he hasn’t scored in his last four games, and was replaced in the starting line-up against Liverpool by
Georginio Rutter.
Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins has been the understudy to Kane over the past couple of years, but he’s struggling to make much of an impact so far this season, with just three goals in the Premier League, two of which came in the 4-3 win over Brighton.
Dominic Solanke and Liam Delap are two other options. Both having ongoing injury issues at Tottenham and Chelsea, though, and on the few occasions they’ve played over the past few months, they’ve hardly impressed.
So, at this moment in time, Calvert-Lewin is the best option for England. He’s done it before, scoring four goals in his eleven appearances, which is more than Solanke (0) and better goal to game ration than Watkins (6 in 20).
What is been said about Calvert-Lewin’s England chances?
Daniel Farke refused to rule out the possibility, even going as far as calling his striker one of the best in England after the 1-1 draw with Brentford, and based on current form, that’s a fair assessment.
“Dominic has proven this before. He has many caps for England and has also a good goal record,” he said.
“I think these goals are even more remarkable for a promoted side that can’t play that dominant than sides fighting for the title, so he will have chances to be in the spotlight.
“My relationship with Thomas is so close and he knows if he has any questions, he can call my number, and we can speak about it. It always depends on the performances, and I think (the) sky is the limit for Dominic.
“He was very unlucky in the last couple of years with injuries, but his quality was never in doubt and his CV speaks for itself.
“For me, he is one of the best English strikers in this league. Harry Kane is playing in Germany for Bayern Munich, but in the Premier League, he is definitely one of the best English strikers and he will be a key player for us going forward.”
Verdict
Calvert-Lewin offers something that not many other England strikers have at the moment. He’s powerful, cleaver in build-up, and clearly has and eye for goal, Tuchel would be wise to at least give him a chance to impress before the World Cup.