Manchester United are being linked with a move for Leeds United striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin, and the suggestion alone is enough to prompt questions. Even with the restraints of the January window and a tight budget, United have other attacking options to weigh up. Yet the possibility of taking Leeds\u2019 No. 9 is the one that stands out for all the wrong and right reasons.<\/p>\n
The Athletic report that Calvert-Lewin is under consideration in Manchester. A direct move from Leeds to United remains highly unusual, with the club last paying money for a player directly from Leeds when Alan Smith made that divisive switch in 2004. This would be another transfer loaded with history.<\/p>\n
From a footballing perspective, there is an obvious case to be made. United need goals, with newly promoted Ipswich Town having outscored them in the Premier League this season, and they also need a central reference point in attack. Calvert-Lewin has 17 Premier League goals since the start of last season, a return no United player can better.<\/p>\n
Bryan Mbeumo can threaten through the middle, particularly in a counter-attacking set-up, but he does not provide the same focal point as a natural striker such as \u0160e\u0161ko, or Calvert-Lewin. Leeds\u2019 forward also offers a strong aerial presence and gives his side a reliable outlet.<\/p>\n
United already put plenty of crosses into the box, but without \u0160e\u0161ko on the pitch there is often nobody to meet them, especially since Casemiro\u2019s summer exit. Calvert-Lewin would change that immediately.<\/p>\n
\u201cDominic is like a good wine, getting better by the year,\u201d Leeds boss Daniel Farke gushed just last month. \u201cPhysically, he\u2019s on a top level and his pace is more than good enough I would say.\u201d<\/p>\n
But the fit is not straightforward. Farke\u2019s claim that Calvert-Lewin is \u201ca very complete striker,\u201d is harder to support. His game is highly specific, suited to Leeds\u2019 approach, where he can poach in the box or attack a ball played through the air. He is less likely to bring others into play.<\/p>\n
No outfield player with more than one Premier League start this season has a lower pass completion rate than Calvert-Lewin. That may be a compromise United would accept, but convincing Leeds would be another matter entirely. The Athletic describe them as \u201cfiercely protective\u201d of their top scorer and rate any deal as \u201cremote.\u201d<\/p>\n
It would also place Calvert-Lewin among a very small group of players to cross this rivalry. In the Premier League era, only three outfielders have gone from Elland Road to Old Trafford. United\u2019s interest is all the more striking because Calvert-Lewin was available on a free transfer just over a year ago, when the club instead chose to spend up to \u00a373.7 million ($99 million) on \u0160e\u0161ko while keeping Zirkzee.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Manchester United\u2019s Dominic Calvert-Lewin links raise history, need and serious footballing questions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22128,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[702,179],"tags":[1162,180,182],"class_list":["post-22129","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-leeds-united","category-manchester-united","tag-analytics","tag-player-news","tag-transfers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22129","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22129"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22129\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22128"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22129"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22129"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22129"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}