Daniel Farke reacts to international return ahead of Eagles visit

Dominic Calvert-Lewin‘s continued growth since signing for Leeds United makes his return to the England squad ‘fully deserved’ in the eyes of his club boss Daniel Farke.

The number 9 arrived in the summer of 2025 after his contract at Everton expired and proved not only his fitness but his goalscoring ability in a stellar debut season at Elland Road. Calvert-Lewin scored 15 goals, 14 of which came in the Premier League, as he led the line for the Whites en route to a 14th-place finish.

With four goals in his first six outings of the new season, Calvert-Lewin’s form has earned him a place in Thomas Tuchel’s England squad for the September Nations League games against Spain, Czech Republic and Croatia.

“Fully deserved,” said Farke. “Perfect start to the new season. He has scored goals, has delivered performances, plays with confidence and he’s in a good rhythm. Dominic definitely deserves the call.”

This time last year the challenge for Calvert-Lewin was to demonstrate he had put his injury issues behind him. Farke says the 29-year-old is in a different place now.

“It’s obviously a different scenario,” said the manager. “He came to us after difficult seasons in terms of injuries and needed to find his rhythm, his confidence in his body and his confidence in his game. He has developed this over the season, and right now you could see that he is way more in his rhythm, way more settled, and obviously takes a leadership role in our group. Confidence and rhythm is always important for each and every player, and this is what he shows at the moment.”

Farke has declared his striker one of the best in the Premier League and holds him as an example for others in the Whites squad with England dreams yet to be fulfilled.

“So all my players with English passports who are involved are delivering good performances at the moment, but you have to do this over the mid and the long-term period, and I think it’s early doors in the season,” said Farke.

“Thomas knows exactly what he needs. But if you keep delivering performances like this, James Justin, for example, who has been excellent for us in the recent months, and also Jayden Bogle was really good in last games. If they keep going I think everyone will be also fully aware that some other players are delivering good performances, but you have to show this with consistency. And if you do this in the future, I’m pretty sure they also have chances perhaps to be in the spotlight, like Dominic or James Trafford.”

Before the international break kicks in, Farke and Leeds will welcome Crystal Palace to Elland Road for Sunday’s 2pm kick-off in the Premier League. The Eagles were in Europa League action against Lech Poznan on Thursday night and Farke says the 4-0 win will see them arrive in West Yorkshire in fine form.

“Good for their confidence, they played a flawless game, clean sheet and it was a relatively easy game for them – not much travelling, they could sleep proper,” he said. “I don’t think there was any distraction. We expect a very difficult opponent.”

Palace sit 16th in the Premier League table, but Farke insists the five-point gap between themselves and his third-placed Leeds does not tell the full story.

“We want to win as many points as possible but we’re fully aware we face a really strong side,” he said.

“I can’t speak with more respect about them. They’ve done exceptionally well, especially also winning titles in the last seasons under Oliver Glasner, and I would say they’ve also done a lot of good business in the transfer market in the summer. I think they’re even stronger than than last season. So far in Europe, flawless so far, in the League Cup flawless. Right now on three points [in the table] but if you go a bit into their performances normally it’s a joke that they didn’t win away at Everton, they’ve missed so many chances and hit the post so often normally should have won this game.

“Last game day against Ipswich they got a red card very early in the game and then lost it more or less in the last stages. They could easily sit there on at least seven or nine points, and they would have the same hype like around us.

“So I’m very, very respectful, and I’m pretty sure they will play a really good season. With a new manager, sometimes it needs a bit of time till everything settles. It’s a very experienced side who plays very, very similar processes like last seasons, and for that I expect a very difficult game for us, and and we need to be at the top of our game in order to win any points.”