Thomas Tuchel surprised fans when he called up Dominic Calvert-Lewin for this month’s international break. The Leeds United striker had been turning heads with his displays in the Premier League this season.
If anybody has predicted that the former Everton man would be in contention for a World Cup spot back in August, they would have been laughed off. Coming into the summer, Calvert-Lewin did not have many suitors despite multiple links. The 28-year old even admitted that Leeds were one of the only clubs to make the call during the summer.
Daniel Farke played a huge role in convincing the striker to join Leeds, and the rest was down to the player. The 49ers took a huge gamble, with fans very concerned with the signing at first. But as the season progressed, the deal proved the decision was the right one – Calvert-Lewin has been the club’s best attacking player this season.
Thomas Tuchel gives verdict on Dominic Calvert-Lewin
Thomas Tuchel and his England side were to face Uruguay and Japan this month. The German planned to see a lot of the players to figure out who could be in the squad at the World Cup. It showed in the lineup on Friday night, where he started a lot of players on the fringes of the team. Tuchel also made it clear that he was assessing options outside Harry Kane for this break, as both Dominic Solanke and Dominic Calvert-Lewin played against Uruguay.
Both strikers failed to find the back of the net in the draw on Friday, and ahead of the Japan game, Thomas Tuchel has made on thing clear. He believes the team is far from making a decision on a backup to Harry Kane: “Good question, I’m not close, not close. I have some ideas, but I will not make them public. I am happy that Harry is in camp, our skipper and goalscorer, and he will lead the team tomorrow on the pitch, and this is what we focus on, we have some options.”
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With Harry Kane returning to camp, and immediately starting, means that Tuchel was not really pleased with what he saw from Solanke and Calvert-Lewin. The Leeds man will be furious with himself, as he had the perfect chance to make an impact on Friday, but put his chance wide. Tuchel is not close to a decision, but with his words, it is not a great look for the two strikers who featured on Friday. Dominic Calvert-Lewin will now have to set his sights on finishing the season strongly, and adding to his 10 goals in all competitions.
