One on One | Calvert-Lewin takes us inside the Leeds dressing room!

0:01I could just feel his confidence in me. I could feel his desire to get me in the building and to want to see me do well. Probably my last three years at Everton were stressful. There was a lot of ups and downs and I felt that I'd come to a stage where I started to stagnate a little bit. We want to finish as high as possible, look up and not down. We've got more than enough within our dressing room and more than enough quality to look much further up the table. I'm a big feeling person. You know, you have to go on how you feel, trust your gut. And my gut was saying, you know, this was the perfect place for me.

0:47Welcome back to 101 from Sky Sports, the podcast where we chat to some of football's biggest names. I'm Joe Tomlinson. And I'm Juliette Farrington. And Joe, if I said to you, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, what comes to mind? Headers, jumping ability, mainly. He has got some leap on him. And how old do you think he is? I would have said potentially 30. I feel like he's been around forever, Dom. Yeah, he's nearly 30. He'll be 30 in a few years' time. He's 28. And as you say, it feels like he's been around forever. But he is only still in his 20s. He made his Premier League debut for Everton at 19. And he's stayed there ever since.

1:25So Everton is all he has ever known in his professional senior football career. Until, obviously, this summer, when a few days before the transfer window closed, He signed for Leeds United on a free transfer, leaving Goodison at the end of last season when his contract expired. And I went to go and see him. And I know that you've gone to see him, too, since he's joined Leeds at their training ground. And I was excited to see him because I like Dominic Carvert-Lewin. I've interviewed him quite a lot of times. I've sat behind him in the dugout at the old Goodison Park. but also I did a one-on-one interview with him in a former job that I had and I absolutely messed it up not the interview the interview was fine and he was brilliant I just forgot to press record so I've been really keen to interview him ever since because it was a really good interview that I did back then when I didn't press record and technology has got better and I've got better using it and this time it went perfectly so if you also remember it was Dominic Calvert-Lewin's goal against Crystal Palace that kept Everton up in the top flight in 2022.

2:33That night, Frank Lampard was looking after the team. Then it was at Goodison Park. There was a pitch invasion. It was an incredible thing to see. He talks to me in that interview that we've done about the toll that fighting relegation took on him. And we also talk about why he joined Leeds United, why he sees it as a fresh start under manager Daniel Farker, and why also he believes Leeds United will stay up this season. He also talks about becoming a dad and how that's changed him. So a lot has happened to Dominic Calvert-Lewin in his 20s. So here he is. Here's Dominic Calvert-Lewin on one-on-one.

3:12Calvert-Lewin the target. Don, brilliantly taken. And just like that, Leeds are level. Dom, thanks for joining us. It's busy in this indoor training pitch here at the training round. quite a lot of things going on but for you let's just get straight in it must feel like a completely fresh start absolutely yeah yeah it's been a breath of fresh air to come into a new environment I think you know nine years is a long time to be anywhere and I think I got to a point where I was just craving a new challenge and a fresh environment and absolutely yeah happy to be here what's it been like then so far you've got your goal you're being fantastic in the air as we know that you are how would you assess how you're getting on here so far I would say it's been a it's been a good start you know could could be better can always be better um being being critical but I think that I didn't have much time to to really get into the swing of things you know I signed what was it four days before the season started so trying my best to keep myself fit but it's not the same as playing and training you know with a team so once I came in it was just about building fitness and I got that through training and playing games in the Premier League which you you know, the most watched league in the world.

4:22So as my fitness has grown, my output's increased and I feel probably physically I'm at a level now where I'm as fit as I can be. So it's just about fine-tuning the things on the pitch. And as far as the club and the staff and the players, it's been a joy to join and a joy to be involved in. Great group of lads and settled in really quickly. Yorkshire as well. Yeah, I feel... Where are you from? I feel at home, yeah. I think it's something familiar when I first came, you know, hearing the accents and things like that. It felt like home. Do you know when you talk about match fitness and you feel you're at your peak now, ready for a season, we've heard from players and managers when players come in late in a transfer window, how much of a pre-season they don't have and how they have that pre-season in game time once the Premier League starts.

5:14Yeah, it makes a big difference if you have a pre-season and you don't have a pre-season. and ultimately you have to get as fit as fast as possible when you don't have a pre-season and let's be honest, no one cares. So it's not like you can sit there and go, well, I've not had a pre-season, this, that and the other. You have to get fit, you have to be ready to play. So it's down to you and the fitness staff to get you fit as fast as possible and get you in the best condition as possible. Why did you feel you needed to move on? you're 28 and people forget how long you've actually been around for because you've been around for so long Premier League debut at 19 you've done so much at such a young age but I always remember you were linked with a move away before as well why did you feel you needed to to maybe go on and look and play your football elsewhere I think it probably came down to you know Everton was all I knew and from for the majority of my adult life you know Everton was where I was you know and I grew into the man I am today and I think probably my last three years at Everton were stressful there was a lot of ups and downs and I felt that I'd come to a stage where I probably started to stagnate a little bit and just felt like a fresh environment and a new challenge was what was needed and yeah and obviously the club has new ownership, new stadium and things like that.

6:43A lot to be positive about. But for myself and on my personal journey, I just felt that... You've been through a lot. Yeah, you have a feeling. And I think people that weren't involved or weren't inside the building underestimate the kind of toll it took on the players that were involved. And, you know, there was a core group of players that I was a part of that played through, you know, and were involved in all of that. And I think that if you were to ask the other players that were also involved, Perhaps, you know, some are still there now. What it was like, they would probably say a lot of the same.

7:14It was tough, but, you know, we pulled through. Gray sends it in for the ball!

7:21Dollar Cowboy Rowan! A comeback of enormous importance for Everton! I remember talking to Seamus Coleman after the Crystal Palace game. He said, I never want to go through that again. Jordan Pickford, I spoke to last month, he told it was just draining. You yourself have spoken about the toll it took on you. Can you just take us and give us an idea of what a player goes through in those moments, knowing that you have to do something about the position you're in that will affect everybody connected with that club? I think you almost answered it yourself there. I think you take into consideration the whole environment, you know, we're the ones that go on the pitch, but we're not the ones that make the whole club tick.

8:09So there are people involved that could potentially lose their jobs with a club being relegated because the funding's not the same. You don't get the same viewership and things like that. So I think us as players, as the pressure mounted, you start to feel that and you start to feel responsible and you also don't want to have a relegation on your CV and you take pride in that also. There were many different factors and obviously the narrative and things start to build in the media and you have to fight against that. And I think it probably strengthened me in a way that I could have never imagined as a player and as a person.

8:47So I come here now joining Leeds with experience that I have, which maybe I didn't want to be in those positions, but I have it. So I come with a strength that I can hopefully, if the going gets tough or we go through difficult moments as a team I can kind of help use my experience and and guide people that perhaps haven't been in those situations before and be the player that can be leaned on that experience in that dressing room when you have those moments after a game whatever the outcome can be will benefit the players you're you're in and around with now absolutely and I think that we've got more than enough within our dressing room and more than enough quality to to look much further up the table but in in saying that it's it's important that we are prepared for for all eventualities so I think for me yeah it was just the case of joining somewhere that I felt that I could make a difference and joining somewhere that I could hit the ground running and make a big influence really.

9:56Internally, when you spoke to Daniel Farker and you were having those conversations, what would be a good season? We want to finish as high as possible, look up and not down. He called me the day before I signed, the manager, and spoke to me for half an hour. Just one of the key things I remember feeling is like he was very like spoke to me on a human level you know not just player to manager um it was human to human which I appreciated and he made a point of saying he he knew my level and he know he knew the the kind of quality that I have and he he had a desire to bring that out of me and you could say that like what he said I really liked and you know it was a no-brainer for me Well, you're here now, aren't you?

10:44Obviously, so it did work. When you say a human level, what type of conversation that was used in those discussions to make you think that he wants me to succeed? I would say he didn't only talk about football and tactics. You know, he spoke a little bit about life and recognising the journey that I'd been on and how he'd watched me for a long time from, you know, being young to the point I'm at now and seeing my development and seeing where I'd kind of hit a few roadblocks and he wanted to understand that a little bit more from my side, which I explained. I could just feel his confidence in me without having met him personally.

11:24I could feel his desire to get me in the building and to want to see me do well. A chance for him to revive his career and to reach former heights when he was really outstanding also on Premier League level. He has shown what he can do and he can be outstanding for us. That feeling though when you hear someone say I've been watching you for years, how good does that make you feel? Yeah, of course, of course. It was a nice conversation. I can't say I've had too many conversations like that with managers. And you've had a lot of managers, even though you've only been at one club before this, you've had a lot of managers.

11:59Yeah, of course, of course. So that's a known thing. So yeah, I just got a good feeling and I'm a big feeling person. You know, you have to go on how you feel, trust your gut. And my gut was saying, you know, this was the perfect place for me. But also you've been, you're active on social media, you express your thoughts and your views and your opinions and you show some wonderful photographs of your family as well. And being a dad's changed you. You've made that quite clear. You've called it like healing. What's healed about you or what's made life better for you? I think it's interesting because everybody's growing and everybody's learning as life goes on through experience and I think as footballers, particularly I guess I've played in the Premier League, made my debut at 19 so a lot of my growth has been in the spotlight and I think that everybody can make mistakes and especially you're in your 20s Still?

12:56Yeah, I'm still in my 20s now, but I think when you're in your early 20s, I look at some players now that you come in under scrutiny in the media and you think it's just a young man learning his way, finding his path. And I would say that becoming a dad kind of answered a lot of questions for me and a lot of questions about life and who I am and what I find important and what is important to me. And it's definitely balanced me and brought me a lot of peace. not so peaceful you know sometimes when my daughter's kicking and screaming but you'll take that yeah it's normal you take that for you know the rough with the smooth but it's been wonderful but have you learned about that empathy now you have when younger players coming through and you can see maybe some reactions and how they deal with things and how in a way it's different now isn't it very different to when you were coming through yeah look the media's a can be a cruel place can be a harsh place and I look at it from a point of view now where you know my my family my wife my daughter they are my my safe place my strength so it was I guess in a time when you're in you when I look at the lads in their early 20s or young younger that are going through certain things I just hope that they've got a good foundation around them because I think that's the most important thing you know who you have around you and people to lean on and I look at that look at and think maybe when players don't have that is perhaps when you're more susceptible to being misled or making a wrong decision.

14:26In front of thousands of people. Under the scrutiny of the world. So I think this is the Premier League. It's the most viewed league in the world and players are under the most scrutiny. So it's tough. It's a tough environment for players coming through. So, yes, I think everybody goes through it in a similar way. Well, we all do in any walk of life. We're all just growing up, really, aren't we? We don't really know what's the best way about doing anything until you hit a certain age and you look back and you think, could have done that a little bit better. Hindsight's a beautiful thing, isn't it?

15:01It really is. Do you set yourself your own individual targets? And I only asked this after what Jordan Pickford had told me and the fact that he's very much all-in team player. his targets he doesn't really have his own he just wants to do things for the team as a striker at the other end of the pitch do you have your targets or are you very much just wanting to make sure the team do okay yeah I think I have my own targets but also I think my targets more often than not directly correlate to how well the team does so if if I'm hitting my personal targets then more often than not the team is doing well because I'm scoring goals for example it means we're winning games so my personal targets are not more important than than what we have as a collective ultimately our goal is to finish as high up the Premier League table as possible and if that means that I'm scoring goals and I'm contributing to that then great if I'm contributing to it in other ways which with your aerial presence correct yeah which aren't probably as on paper you know nowadays it's how many goals does he score numbers with numbers yeah statistics but there's more more than one way to look at it so I try to to lead the line and bring as much of my experience to the pitch as possible and if I score then great obviously everyone knows I love scoring goals and and want to score goals so that's very high on my priority list but when you score those goals that feeling you have you can't take away from you and And I can't imagine what that feeling is like because I've never scored a goal in an arena with thousands of fans looking and hoping that you go on and score a goal that will take you to win three points, by the way.

16:44But if you score a goal as important as you did for Everton against Crystal Palace, which turned out to be the winner, I don't know if you remember anything about it or the moment. But when you look back on that, that feeling when you do something like that, that ultimately decides if a team is going to stay in the Premier League or could be relegated. what's that feeling like for you I guess it's a feeling of relief really in a situation like that like where the pressure's on and and you know backs against the wall and you produce a big moment important moment important moment you know I guess it's not only personal relief but a collective relief but the feeling of scoring goals you know you can't beat it and I think that the togetherness that we've got here has been something really refreshing and it kind of doesn't matter who scores a goal at the moment.

17:35We're all celebrating in the same way. I get an unbelievable feeling when Brendan come and taps one in after having a difficult moment the week before. He bounces back, scores a goal. Couldn't be happier for him. And I think ultimately through the course of a season those are the kind of things and the characteristics if you all have them that pull you through. And when you come into a new team like Leeds United, you'll know a lot about Leeds United being Yorkshire and everything else. Big club, huge support. Do you get that instant feeling when you walk through a door or you meet your teammates and you're in the dressing room or the initiation or whatever?

18:12Do you know when you've hit the jackpot, you've got it right straight away? What do you mean by that? You just know you're in a group of good, proper lads. Yeah, yeah. you can sense it straight away like you said being different dressing rooms in the sense of you know different characters, different personalities players, personalities so it can get clicky at times and I think I recognise here from my first week that you know everyone speaks to everyone, it's a very tight-knit environment where you know you see the coaching staff, the physios the players, everyone's kind of mingling constantly and that's what I liked quite early on you know Everyone's speaking to each other, getting involved with each other every day.

18:56So yeah, from that perspective, definitely. And being one of the three teams that came up last season back into the Premier League as well, so much has been said about the seasons that they're having so far, the Burnleys, Sunderland and you yourself. You've already given yourself a real fighting chance, haven't you? To be in the Premier League next season and stay and push further up the table, which is what you want to do. Absolutely. That has to be the mentality, the winning mentality. and statistically you know the teams that are newly promoted are always backs against the wall from the start they're always the three teams straight away always looked at and thought which is normal it's always been that way so i think that for us we've more so for ourselves in our performances we've we've shown what we're capable of what we're good at where we need to improve and i think it's having that mentality of you know win or learn And, you know, either you win or if you don't get the result that you're looking for, you analyse why and look to improve.

19:58And where you start at the start of a season is not where you are collectively as a group at the end of the season. So as a newly promoted team, we haven't got an abundance of experience, but we've got enough experience. And players are an age where, you know, they can step into roles and grow into roles, which is what I'm looking for within the team, is for players to step up and grow and take on a leadership role when it's needed and hold each other accountable. And just finally, coming to the end of this, so from what you're saying, I just get this impression being around talking to you and what you've said.

20:36You know it's going to be difficult, it's going to be tough, but it's actually achievable for what you want to do as a team. 100%, yeah, 100%. And the evidence has shown that so far with the performances that we've put in. And I think it's been small details where we've probably let ourselves down. And that's where I'm talking about where we need to improve. And over the course of the season, you have to turn those moments into your favour. And then that's ultimately what gets you up there. But yeah, we've got full belief in our ability within our squad that we can achieve our goals and our targets.

21:08And that's what we're striving for every day and creating a winning environment. And life's good. Life is good. Yeah, life is good. Love it. thank you so much thank you well jules at least you press record this time we actually managed to hear from dominic so that is a good good start do you know what he is such a lovely guy dom isn't he every time i chat to him you come away feeling really wholesome i think he seems like he's very very happy in leads yeah he just seems to be a really good guy a nice guy an articulate guy an engaging guy someone you can have that conversation with and he hasn't done many interviews recently because of things that have been going on, what was his situation at Everton and joining Leeds United.

21:51You know, and as we say, he spent most of his adult life at Everton. He just fancied something different. He was very open and honest about that. And also, he really opened up about that toll it takes, fighting relegation and what it did to him. And I don't think, as supporters, sometimes I don't think we've realised that. He was so interesting to talk to. And I felt, although we were only in each other's company for around 15 minutes or so. I could just have spoken to him all day about everything. And I know you went to see him as well, Joe, a few weeks before I did, didn't you? Yeah, absolutely.

22:24I went up to Leeds and I actually did a feature where he was sort of guessing which player was a professional football. We had him for an hour, actually, and he was such good value. He was taking photos of all the contestants after. He was going around shaking everybody's hand. He stayed for an extra amount of time as well to make sure we got everything we needed. I think that kind of speaks volumes because some players, people at home maybe don't realise some players definitely do not do that but Don more than happy to give up his time more than happy to take selfies with everyone he was such good value on that interview and he's been good value every time I've spoken to him whether it's a sit-down interview whether it's a fun feature whether it's a game he just gets it and I promise you not every footballer does no and as I said he's done most of his growing up hasn't he in the spotlight at Everton and also becoming a dad he says has given him that peace and now he feels he can share his own experiences at the grand old age of 28 to some of those younger players now coming through at Leeds United and also we've heard this before haven't we how managers when they speak to players they don't speak to them as footballers anymore they speak to them as human beings that half hour conversation he had with Daniel Farker 24 hours later he signs for Leeds United so it'd be really good as well from a neutral point of view if Leeds were to stay in the Premier League because that history that fan base the support how noisy it is at Ellum Road.

23:44It'd be great to see them stay in the Premier League next season. And just like he did with Everton, maybe Dominic Calvert-Lewin could play a pivotal role in their survival. Love that, Jules. Well done for clicking record on this one with Big Dom. Love to hear all about him and his career so far. If you want to watch Jules' interview with Dominic or any others from this season, then simply search for One-on-One on the Sky Sports Premier League YouTube channel. It was only because someone else was pressing record and I didn't have to worry about it this time. But we're here every week. You can hear the conversations in full, recorded beautifully sound wise with all the big names in football.

24:22And if you don't already give this show a follow, make sure you do so you don't miss the next episode. Thanks for listening and we'll catch up soon. See you next week, Jules.

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