“What a difference a year can make,” reflects Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

The striker, who turned 29 on Monday, is playing regular football for Leeds United and enjoying his best season in front of goal since 2020-21. His performances have even led to his name resurfacing in debates over England’s World Cup squad.

Calvert-Lewin has not been selected to represent his country since 2021. After five years away from the England setup, he had begun to wonder if his international career might be over.

“There was a moment when I had to accept I might not play for England again,” he admits. “A year ago, people probably wouldn’t have expected me to be in this position, but I always believed it was possible if the timing was right and if I did the work.

“Just to be having the conversation again about an England call-up means a lot.”

If Calvert-Lewin is selected by Thomas Tuchel for the March friendlies against Uruguay and Japan, it will represent a remarkable turnaround for a player who has suffered with injuries and indifferent form in the intervening years.

The summer of 2025 was a pivotal point in Calvert-Lewin’s career. With his contract at Everton set to expire, he made a decision to leave the club where he had spent the previous nine years.

“Everton were very good to me, and I believe I was good to Everton,” he tells The Athletic. “But I think mutually it got to a point where a change was needed.”

Calvert-Lewin entertained interest from abroad but ultimately decided he had unfinished business closer to home. “The longer the summer went on, the more I felt the pull to stay in England and stay in the Premier League,” he says.

Leeds made contact a few weeks before the start of the season. Calvert-Lewin was immediately interested, and a phone call with their head coach Daniel Farke persuaded him his future lay at Elland Road.

“He called me two days before I signed,” says Calvert-Lewin. “We spoke for quite a while about Leeds as a club, what it means to play there and the environment around it. He spoke about watching my progression over the last few years and said he felt I still had more to give in the game.

“But he also spoke to me on a human level. He wasn’t just speaking to the footballer — he was speaking to Dominic the person. That’s the type of manager I like to work with. I just had that feeling in my stomach that this was the guy I wanted to go and play for.”

A conversation with Daniel Farke convinced Dominic Calvert-Lewin to join Leeds (Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

The move has paid dividends for all parties. Calvert-Lewin has 10 Premier League goals this season. Only six players have more — none of them English. His tally is matched by Brighton & Hove Albion’s Danny Welbeck, another player being discussed as a potential England call-up.

Calvert-Lewin has flourished as the focal point of Leeds’ attack. Previously linked with Champions League clubs, he knew Elland Road would offer something else: regular football and the chance to lead the line.

“What I needed most was the opportunity to play and showcase what I am really capable of,” he says.

“Over the last two or three years, it had been difficult to build momentum and confidence. When Leeds made it clear I’d be the No 9 and the main man to lead the line, I couldn’t wait to get started.”

Crucially, he has stayed fit. Since making his Premier League debut for the club against Newcastle United in August, Calvert-Lewin has missed just one league game. He is indebted to Leeds for how they have managed him, but has also taken matters into his own hands.

“I had a lot of time to think in the summer,” explains Calvert-Lewin. “This season I’ve really tried to educate myself about everything around the pitch and off the pitch.

“The biggest changes have been my nutrition, recovery and sleep — sleep being the main thing. I treat it more like a 24-7 job than ever.

“I’ve always loved football and lived and breathed it, but this season I’ve found a consistency that has helped take my game to another level.”

Calvert-Lewin has found stability away from football, too. “Over the last four years, there have been big changes in my personal life — I’ve become a dad and I’ve got married.

“My wife has been my biggest support. In the difficult periods, she was the one pushing me on.

“There were times when I doubted myself, when that voice in the back of your mind says: what if I can’t get back to the level I know I can reach?

“Becoming a father gave me a new purpose and balance in my life. Good game or bad game, my daughter doesn’t know if I’ve scored a hat-trick or missed a sitter — and that perspective is powerful.”

On a personal level, Calvert-Lewin has experienced good and difficult periods this season. At the end of 2025, he had an explosive run of seven goals in six games — form that meant he was recognised as the Premier League’s player of the month for December.

More recently, he has scored just twice in 11 Premier League matches — and missed an important penalty in Leeds’ most recent outing, against Crystal Palace.

“One of my mottos has always been: never too high, never too low,” he says. “When you’re scoring goals, enjoy it — because you’re helping the team. When the goals aren’t coming as frequently, you have to stay mentally strong and understand it’s part of the process.”

Now a seasoned Premier League player, Calvert-Lewin has taken on a leadership role in the Leeds dressing room.

“When I joined Leeds, I knew it was a relatively young squad,” he says.

“At Everton I had players like Seamus Coleman and James Tarkowski to look up to. At Leeds I realised I might be the one younger players would look towards.

“I’ve embraced that responsibility and really enjoyed that role. I’ve tried to lead by example — through my body language, my work and what I say at the right moments.”

One such moment came at the Etihad. After Leeds fought back to level at 2-2 against Manchester City, only to lose to a stoppage-time goal from Phil Foden, Calvert-Lewin spoke in the dressing room.

“I felt compelled to speak because we’d done so well to get ourselves back into the game,” he explains. “And then we let it slip with a lapse of concentration right at the end, which was frustrating.

“I just tried to emphasise what a difference a week can make in football. At a time when it feels like everyone is writing you off, you can still push a team like that right until the last minute. That was my message: that we should have no fear.”

The result sparked an upturn in Leeds’ performances — but there is still work to do if they are to retain their Premier League place. For any talk of England, that is Calvert-Lewin’s immediate priority.

“You’re only safe when you’re mathematically safe,” he says. “We can’t rely on other teams dropping points — we have to take care of what’s in front of us.”

For Calvert-Lewin, survival is paramount. “I could score 25 goals, but if we don’t stay in the Premier League, then I haven’t done my job.”

Tuchel will name his England squad at 10am on Friday. Calvert-Lewin would love to be included — and not just for himself.

“The longer it’s gone since I last played for England, the more I’ve appreciated how special it was,” he says.

“I’d love my daughter to see her dad play for England. That’s a huge motivation for me.”