In the end it was a classic Everton number nine’s goal that secured the Premier League status of Frank Lampard’s side but will Dominic Calvert-Lewin still be wearing that most revered of royal blue jerseys next season? Despite what others might say, it will be Everton themselves who will decide and it’s a call they can make on footballing terms.
The future of the Sheffield-born centre-forward has been under much scrutiny of late but unlike his fellow frontman Richarlison, who has just two years left on his current deal, forcing Goodison Park chiefs to either stick or twist this summer in terms of getting him to agree fresh terms or cash in before his market value declines – although a mid-season World Cup where the potential of a starring role for Brazil could potentially up the price tag – Calvert-Lewin’s contract does not expire until 2025.
Just 12 months ago, at the time of the coronavirus-delayed ‘Euro 2020’ he was second only to Three Lions captain Harry Kane when it came to England strikers, playing an understudy role to the skipper during Gareth Southgate’s side’s run to the final at Wembley but as the national team prepares for the aforementioned tournament in Qatar later this year, Calvert-Lewin currently finds himself out of the squad and largely out of the conversation. In 2020/21, he looked a natural when stepping up to international football while simultaneously enjoying what was a breakthrough season at club level.
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A goal against Wales on his England debut was followed by a further strike against Ireland and then a brace when facing San Marino. Back with Everton, there were 21 goals in all competitions, including 16 in the Premier League. For a long time, Calvert-Lewin, one of the Blues’ original director of football Steve Walsh’s most astute purchases among almost six years of largely squandering a fortune under Farhad Moshiri, looked like he had almost all the attributes to become a top centre-forward.
His superb chiselled physique ensured he was both strong and quick but a tough grounding through a loan spell at non-League Stalybridge Celtic as a 17-year-old – he spent the night after his debut in A&E after being smashed in the face by an elbow, having scored twice despite admitting: “I could hardly see” – ensured he was also brave. Daily mentoring from Duncan Ferguson at Finch Farm helped turn Calvert-Lewin into one of the most aerially-dominant strikers in the Premier League but for a while it seemed as though he might lack the instincts of a penalty box predator that the leading marksmen possess.
Former Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti, who worked alongside Pippo Inzaghi, the doyen of archetypical Italian goal poachers for many years, encouraged the Blues centre-forward to learn from his former player’s penchant for one touch finishes and for a while the penny seemed to drop. It perhaps still remains too soon to judge whether Calvert-Lewin’s hot streak was a mere purple patch – fabled one touch finisher Nikica Jelavic started his Goodison career in such fashion before quickly fading – but with three goals in the last 13 games of 2020/21 after a hamstring injury, the 25-year-old’s problems continued into the following campaign.
Calvert-Lewin bookended 2021/22 at Goodison with diving headers in front of the Gwladys Street having wrapped up the 3-1 opening day win over Southampton in Rafael Benitez’s first match in charge but in between there was plenty of heartache. Converted penalties at Elland Road and the Amex Stadium ensured the number nine finished August with three goals from as many games but then a quadriceps injury kept him sidelined until the end of the calendar year with the Blues’ bright start under the former Liverpool manager quickly fading in dramatic fashion. For a player previously so durable it must have been particularly galling for Calvert-Lewin but one wonders how differently things might have turned out had he found the net on his return at home to Brighton & Hove on January 2.
Unlike the reverse fixture in Sussex where he’d had to prise the ball out of Richarlison’s hands to take a spot-kick, Calvert-Lewin appeared to have the backing of all his colleagues when he stepped up from 12 yards against the Seagulls at Goodison but his wayward effort went high above the net and into the Park End Stand. Conversion could have put Everton level but they lost 3-2 and following a 2-1 defeat at Norwich City in their next Premier League fixture, Benitez was sacked.
Despite a change in the dugout, things remained stop-start for Calvert-Lewin over the subsequent weeks with the player making more waves off the pitch with his fashion shoots and Everton’s hierarchy were left furious over speculation on his future ahead of a crucial clash with relegation rivals Burnley at Turf Moor. An interview with GQ magazine described the player as being on the “brink” of a summer move to Arsenal.
Eventually, the Blues number nine would endure an 11-match goalless streak before finally breaking his duck. While it wasn’t the proverbial deflection off the backside, it wasn’t far off as he got a deft touch with a chest onto Richarlison’s seemingly goalbound effort at home to Brentford as television footage showed Calvert-Lewin mouthing the words: “My goal.”
Although that effort wasn’t enough for Everton to secure their top flight status as they lost 3-2, finishing the game with just nine men, it perhaps gave the spearhead of their attack the confidence needed to take his big chance against Crystal Palace when the Blues got a second bite of the cherry to save themselves at Goodison four days later. The big question as Lampard reshapes his squad though alongside new director of football Kevin Thelwell, is whether Calvert-Lewin is the type of striker that he wants to deploy.
Ancelotti played to his strengths and Benitez made the acquisition of wingers who could cross the ball last summer a priority but given that the former Derby County and Chelsea manager likes to play a more possession-based game, it remains to be seen just how a traditional-style centre-forward fits into those plans. As well as the likes of Arsenal and Manchester United, we're also told that nouveau riche Newcastle United are admirers but given his age, background and the work that Everton have already put into developing Calvert-Lewin, it won’t be a decision that they take lightly but either way it’s one that they can make on their own terms to do what they deem is right for the football club.
