Sean Dyche admits Leeds United have solved Dominic Calvert-Lewin issue he could never manage | OneFootball

Sean Dyche says a change of environment and lighter burden at Leeds United have helped Dominic Calvert-Lewin thrive after injury-hit years at Everton.

Calvert-Lewin left Everton on a free after nine years last summer, joining Leeds amid fitness doubts. He had started fewer than 20 Premier League games in three of his previous four seasons and had not hit double figures since 2020/21.

Since debuting against Newcastle in August, he has not missed a top-flight match through injury, only sitting out the 2-2 at Chelsea due to illness. That run has yielded 11 goals and an England call-up last month.

“He was close, but we could never get him full-out freedom to go sprint and play; he has found that at Leeds.” He told talkSPORT.

“Maybe a different environment, different crowd and different voices - that can affect a player. At Everton, it was sort of, ‘when is he back?’ for a few years, and maybe that was a burden to carry.”

He has scored only once in the league since early February, but a burst of seven in six through winter delivered December’s Premier League Player of the Month award.

One of those arrived in a comeback 1-1 draw at Brentford, the 29-year-old heading in a Willy Gnonto cross on 82 minutes.

“I think the performances are speaking for themselves at the moment. I’m feeling good, feeling healthy.” He told Sky Sports.

“When you get a certain narrative around you and you’re tarred with a certain brush, it's quite hard to shake it.”

Source: yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk