Football Manager thrives on its realism, and the scouts from every country in the game tend to do a stellar job. However, sometimes there are players in the game who are far better on FM than they are on a football pitch.
One player that fits into that category is Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
The perfect example of a player who performs better in FM than in real life
For me, DCL is the perfect example of this on FM. The forward is highly rated on FM24, especially. However, his achievements in the game far outweigh his accomplishments on a football pitch.
When you manage Everton on FM24, he will be highly prolific and avoid injury most of the time. These two things do not correlate with real life. In fact, at times, he will be so prolific that he will be in contention for the European Golden Boot.
Usually, within the first few seasons, he makes a big-money move to a higher-profile club and carries on his exploits there. In short, he is a world-class striker.
In real life, Calvert-Lewin has scored just 17 times in four seasons with Everton. Injuries disrupted the first two seasons of that four-season run. However, he has scored just ten times in the last two campaigns, despite making 58 appearances.
As somebody who plays FM as Everton on most of my saves, Calvert-Lewin was always the star of the show. Even on tactic testing, he was always the league’s top goalscorer, and even using the less effective tactics, he would get 20-plus goals.
Imagine a world in which DCL would score more goals than the likes of Salah, Haaland and Isak.
Why was DCL so highly rated on FM24?
Some may say that the FM scouts for England or Everton have messed up with DCL’s stats. However, when the game was released for the 2023/24 season, it’s possible that whoever compiled the forward’s stats was expecting him to return to his form from the 2020/21 season, when he scored 21 goals in all competitions. That was Calvin-Lewin’s most prolific campaign of his career.
The season before, he scored 13 Premier League goals. He seemed to thrive under the stewardship of Italian managerial legend Carlo Ancelotti.
However, the following two seasons were plagued by injuries for him. Injuries restricted the forward to making just 17 top-flight appearances in both the 2021/2022 and 2022/23 seasons. In those 34 league games, he scored just seven league goals.
A downturn in his goal-scoring rate is to be expected, considering his injury issues during the respective campaigns. He was always going to have difficulties getting back into the rhythm of football if injuries continued to plague him.
A move to Leeds could revive DCL
Dominic Calvert-Lewin left Everton this summer when his contract with the Toffees expired. Reportedly, he was offered a new contract to stay on Merseyside, but he turned it down.
Different stories have been circulating, such as the claim that he was seeking huge wages, which Everton was not prepared to offer him. Considering his lack of effectiveness at times in recent seasons, the Toffees’ reasoning was sound.
Arguably, most Everton fans were okay with Calvert-Lewin moving on. Many thanked him for his services when he moved on, but he didn’t score enough goals to warrant big wages or even a place in the team’s starting line-up.
Last week, Calvert-Lewin entered the next phase of his career as he joined newly-promoted Leeds United. For the Yorkshire outfit, signing the 28-year-old as a free transfer was likely a risk worth taking.
He is still only 28, which is the prime time for an outfield player. He hasn’t suffered with many serious injuries over the last few seasons, and on his day, he has all the attributes to be a highly effective striker.
Unfortunately for the forward, he hasn’t shown his ability enough, and we have only seen flashes of his best form. Towards the end of his Everton career, it became evident that he needed a change to revive his career.
Maybe a switch to Leeds could help him revive his career. He could be a highly useful player if the team plays to his strengths. If Leeds are to be comfortable this season in the Premier League, then DCL returning to form could be vital.
One thing that seems almost certain is the fact that the forward is unlikely to ever live up to his FM26 stats or performance, which is a massive shame.
Can Dominic Calvert-Lewin revive his career at Leeds United?
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