Dominic Calvert-Lewin could face his former Everton team-mates as early as Monday after joining Leeds United on a free transfer.
Calvert-Lewin left Everton when his contract expired in June, nine years after joining from Sheffield United for £1.5m.
He was linked with Manchester United and Newcastle United earlier in the transfer window, but after those moves failed to materialise, Sunderland and Leeds emerged as contenders for his signature.
Leeds have been seeking attacking reinforcements since their promotion back to the big time. Last season’s Championship Golden Boot winner Joel Piroe does not boast any top-flight experience, while Dan James, Wilfried Gnonto and Brenden Aaronson have just 15 goals in 166 Premier League games between them.
Having penned a three-year contract with the Elland Road club, Calvert-Lewin could make his debut against his former side in their opening Premier League match on Monday, with Daniel Farke saying he should be in contention.
Speaking at Friday’s pre-match press conference, shortly before Calvert-Lewin’s signing was announced, Farke said: “We are all delighted that he will wear a Leeds shirt from now on.
“He is obviously a proven player at Premier League level. As a newly promoted side, we want to sign players that have already delivered at the top level but are still at a good age and on the way up in their career.
“These boxes are all ticked by him. The key for him right now is to not be over-motivated.
“We will build his fitness step-by-step so that he is able to find confidence in his body again, but he has shown what he can do and he can be outstanding for us.”
x DCL pic.twitter.com/9S4zljIiyP
— Leeds United (@LUFC) August 15, 2025
Calvert-Lewin has been hampered by injuries in recent seasons, only starting 20 or more Premier League matches in three of his nine campaigns with Everton (30 in 2019-20, 32 in 2020-21 and 26 in 2023-24), with those also being the only occasions on which he played more than 2,000 minutes.
He scored 57 goals in 239 Premier League appearances, but during the last three campaigns, he underperformed his expected goals (xG) figures by a greater margin than any other player in the competition (12 goals from 25.65 xG).
Everton boss David Moyes was pleased to see the 28-year-old get his move, revealing Everton did not extend his contract for financial reasons.
“I am pleased for Dom, I have had a really good relationship with him. I didn’t really get a chance to deeply work with him because of injuries. I only had one or two games with him,” Moyes said.
“We just found the financials to be too much at the time and we chose to move on. It might have been the right time for Dom as well and I’m really pleased that he has sorted himself out. He has gone to a really good club.”