Leeds United Backed To Strengthen Up Front: Is One Striker Enough For Premier League Survival? | OneFootball

Leeds United are making plans to sign a new striker in the summer transfer window, according to a report from Mick Brown, after identifying the need for more firepower alongside Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Lukas Nmecha. The 29-year-old Calvert-Lewin has enjoyed a strong season since arriving at Elland Road on a free transfer from Everton last summer, but he cost his side dearly as he missed a crucial penalty in the 0-0 draw against Crystal Palace, leaving him with just two goals in his last 11 Premier League outings.

Leeds United Eye Summer Striker as Calvert-Lewin Consistency Concerns Grow at Elland Road

Former Manchester United chief scout Mick Brown, speaking to Football Insider, said Leeds United are broadly content with Calvert-Lewin’s contribution, but claimed the club feel they require a more reliable goalscorer to complement him. Brown stated that Calvert-Lewin has done better than many anticipated since his arrival, but he remains a striker who goes through pronounced peaks and troughs, so the club cannot count on him as their main goalscorer week after week.

Leeds had already attempted to address the problem in January, making multiple bids for a forward, including a move for Jorgen Strand Larsen, but all failed, leaving Daniel Farke to continue with his existing options. Brown told Football Insider that the club are now set on the summer window and want to sign someone who offers greater consistency and could either partner Calvert-Lewin or replace him when form deserts him. Brown also noted that finances and player availability remain the outstanding questions Leeds United must resolve before securing their target.

“There are still a few concerns about Calvert-Lewin. He’s done better than most people expected him to do since he joined Leeds, but he’s still not the type of striker you want to rely on as your source of goals. His record, even this season, tells you that he goes through peaks and troughs, so there are doubts about whether he can do it consistently.”

“The way Leeds play as well, they could start them both up front together, but it would give them more options than what they’ve currently got. The only question now is about money and where they’re going to get the player they want. That’s something they’ll be working on behind the scenes.”

Should Leeds United Prioritise a Like-For-Like Replacement or a Different Striker Profile This Summer?

LONDON, ENGLAND – MARCH 15: Dominic Calvert-Lewin of Leeds United during the Premier League match between Crystal Palace and Leeds United at Selhurst Park on March 15, 2026 in London, England. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

Leeds currently sit 15th in the Premier League table, three points above the relegation zone, and the picture at Elland Road shows a club in an awkward spot heading into what promises to be a pivotal transfer window. Calvert-Lewin, who turned 29 on 16th March, is an England international with 11 caps to his name, and his December 2025 form, seven goals across six successive matches, saw him named Premier League Player of the Month, the first Leeds player to receive that honour since Rio Ferdinand in October 2001. This illustrates exactly what he can produce at his best.

The trouble is his best form has come in bursts. Daniel Farke’s mid-season switch to a 3-5-2 formation has tended to look most effective when two target men start together, and with Nmecha and Calvert-Lewin as the two frontline options, the addition of a third forward is seen as a paramount target this summer.

The genuinely interesting question here is not whether Leeds United should sign a striker; they clearly should, but rather what type of player would actually solve the structural problem. Calvert-Lewin’s issue is not raw ability; it is the stop-start nature of a career defined by injury and inconsistency since his peak years at Everton. Signing another ageing or injury-prone name would simply replicate the same vulnerability.

Derby County’s Patrick Agyemang, 25-years-old, has attracted Leeds’ attention, having scored ten goals and contributed four assists in 33 appearances this season after arriving from FC Charlotte, and he represents something genuinely different: a physically imposing young striker with an ascending trajectory rather than a declining one. Kasper Hogh of Bodo/Glimt has also been scouted by Leeds during a recent trip to watch the Norwegian side, further confirming the club’s broad sweep across different markets.

Put plainly from Leeds United’s side: signing a young, athletic, consistent striker in the 22–26 age bracket who suits Farke’s two-striker system would represent the best use of their transfer money. Calvert-Lewin, who reportedly wants an England World Cup place, will find personal motivation to recapture form, but Leeds cannot afford to build their survival strategy around his peaks. Farke himself has stated he is never afraid of competition and always hungry for quality, whilst also acknowledging the need to balance squad size with player confidence.

In practice, that points to one additional forward of genuine Premier League quality rather than a wholesale overhaul. The 49ers ownership has the financial appetite to spend, and Leeds splashed over £100 million on new signings last summer. They have shown they will back the manager. Now the decisive move is to back him with a striker who scores goals in January as readily as he does in December.