One of the biggest concerns emerging among the fanbase at Leeds United at the moment appears to be the lack of goal threat in the team in recent games.
The Whites have failed to score a goal from open play in the first four matches of a league season, failing to score in any of their last three games in the division.
Lucas Nmecha’s penalty in the 1-0 win over Everton on the opening day of the 2025/26 campaign is the only league goal that has been scored by the Whites since they won the Championship title.
Leeds scored a whopping 62 goals to avoid relegation in their first season back in the top-flight under Marcelo Bielsa in the 2020/21 campaign, with Patrick Bamford’s 17-goal haul standing out as the headliner from that attack.
Daniel Farke has to find a way to platform his attackers in a way that allows them to be as effective as Bamford was that season, because one of his forwards does have the potential to be a big threat in front of goal.
Leeds swooped to sign Dominic Calvert-Lewin on a free transfer from Everton this summer and one of the reasons why they moved to bring him in was because he is a proven Premier League player.
Why Calvert-Lewin could be the goalscorer Leeds need
Despite his experience in the league, signing the 28-year-old centre-forward was a risky move by the Championship champions because he has not been at his best in front of goal for several years.
Per Understat, Calvert-Lewin only scored three goals from 8.85 xG in the Premier League for the Toffees in the 2024/25 campaign, which led to them deciding to allow him to depart from the club on a free transfer.
The 11-cap England international also missed 21 matches through injury in the 2024/25 and 2023/24 seasons combined, per Transfermarkt. This means that Leeds are banking on being able to help him avoid injuries in a way that he has been unable to do in recent years.
24/25
8.85
3
23/24
13.63
7
22/23
6.50
2
21/22
6.22
5
20/21
18.21
16
19/20
16.11
13
18/19
6.17
6
17/18
5.44
4
16/17
1.25
1
As you can see in the table above, Calvert-Lewin did score an eye-catching 29 goals in the Premier League between the 2019/20 and 2020/21 campaigns for the Toffees, which shows that he does have the capability to score plenty of goals in the top-flight.
It is down to Farke to find a way to get the best out of the striker, though, and down to the player to take his chances when they come to build his own confidence back up.
If Leeds can get Calvert-Lewin firing at his best, then they could have their next version of Bamford from the 2020/21 season to fire them to safety in the Premier League.
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To help the former England international, Farke could revert to the 4-2-3-1 formation that served him so well in the Championship. The Whites scored 95 goals in 46 matches and racked up 100 points with that formation, before switching to a 4-3-3 in the Premier League to provide more stability in midfield.
It seems to have gone too far the other way, though, with the lack of attacking threat in the team at present, which is why the manager must go back to a 4-2-3-1 and unleash Wilfried Gnonto in a lesser-seen role for him to get the best out of Calvert-Lewin.
Why Gnonto could get Calvert-Lewin firing again
The bulk of the Italy U21 international’s appearances for Leeds in the 2024/25 campaign came on the left or the right flank, as he only played centrally in three of his 46 outings in all competitions, per Transfermarkt.
Gnonto has also started this season as a wide option in the 4-3-3 formation, starting the first three matches on the left wing, but he has yet to deliver a shot on target or a ‘big chance’ created.
The move back to a 4-2-3-1 system could help to get the best out of the Italian forward whilst also providing Calvert-Lewin with more support and more creativity around him at the top end of the pitch.
As you can see in the graphic above, Gnonto would slot in behind the striker with Dan James on the right and Noah Okafor on the left flank, which would mean that Leeds have three attackers supporting the forward instead of two wingers and three central midfielders who are not specialist attackers.
The reason why Farke should unleash the Italian youngster, who Statman Dave once described as “electric”, in a central position behind Calvert-Lewin is that his career statistics suggest that he is at his best playing off a number nine.
Right wing (62)
14
10
Second striker (48)
20
7
Left wing (38)
7
4
Attacking midfield (18)
4
1
Right midfield (9)
2
0
Left midfield (7)
0
1
Striker (6)
2
0
As you can see in the table above, Gnonto’s best return of goals and assists combined per appearance in his career is as a second striker, which is a role he could play in a 4-2-3-1 in the hole behind Calvert-Lewin.
The former Zurich star scored nine goals and created ten ‘big chances’ in 26 starts in the Championship last season, per Sofascore, whilst playing as a winger, so imagine what he could produce as a regular starter as a second striker, which appears to get the best out of him.
Gnonto’s ability to score and create goals from central positions could benefit Calvert-Lewin in multiple ways, because the Italian’s goal threat could take some of the pressure off the striker and his creativity could provide the Englishman with the chances he needs to score.
As aforementioned, Calvert-Lewin needs plenty of chances to score and unleashing Gnonto as a second striker as part of a formation change that would improve the team’s attacking set-up could be exactly what Farke needs to do to get him firing.
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1 ByDan Emery