When Carlo Ancelotti became the new Everton manager in December 2019, many believed Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s days on Merseyside to be numbered.
However, after eight games this season the 23-year-old is the Premier League’s joint top-scorer, alongside Son Heung-min, with eight goals.
Calvert-Lewin has started this season at breakneck speed (not just a reference to his heading ability) having scored in every match bar the Toffees’ 2-0 defeat at Southampton and their recent 3-1 loss to Manchester United.
Gareth Southgate has included him yet again in the England squad for their upcoming friendly against the Republic of Ireland and subsequent Nations League games across the next week.
The Everton No 9 carried his impressive form into the last international break where he scored after just 26 minutes on his senior debut against rivals Wales.
Southgate has been crying out for a back-up striker to captain Harry Kane and the young forward seems to be the perfect option for a Plan B this summer at the delayed 2020 European Championship.
His pace and power give club team-mates James Rodriguez, Lucas Digne and Seamus Coleman the perfect outlet for their crosses. In fact, both Digne and Coleman set up the first three league goals for the England international.
Despite Ancelotti seemingly getting the best out of his striker, the Italian can’t take all the credit for Calvert-Lewin’s resurgence. When Duncan Ferguson took caretaker charge of Everton the forward was an instant success – scoring two goals in a 3-1 win against Chelsea.
The Scotsman was a cult hero for the club as a player and comparisons were instantly made between the two due to their staggering ability to tower over defenders in the air.
It was clear from the start that the Sheffield-born striker would be vital in Ferguson’s short tenure as interim manager. But, when the surprise appointment of Ancelotti was announced, many were unsure whether he would play Calvert-Lewin.
The doubts proved unfounded when he helped fire Everton to a 1-0 win over Burnley in the Italian’s first game in charge. He then went on to score seven goals in 10 games for the Merseyside outfit but failed to score in the last 10 games of the season.
The forward must have been nervous throughout their short pre-season as the board began to spend big on players such as Rodriguez, Abdoulaye Doucoure and Allan. However, the three-times Champions League managerial winner put faith in the Englishman and the Brazilian forward Richarlison.
The confidence this gave Calvert-Lewin would have been immense as his manager has worked with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Filippo Inzaghi and Didier Drogba.
Following their 5-2 league win over West Brom, with Calvert-Lewin scoring a hat-trick, the Italian legend began the Inzaghi comparisons.
‘I had a fantastic striker in Inzaghi, who scored 300 goals and 210 with one touch, a striker has to be focused on the box and I think Calvert-Lewin understands,’ he said.
All 11 of his goals this season have come from inside the box and his knack for quick instinctive first-time finishes have seen him flourish. On top of that, he’s rapidly becoming a fantasy football necessity.
With England playing three times in the space of the next seven days, he is sure to get plenty of minutes and continue to stake a claim for next summer’s Three Lions squad.
Although he lacks senior international appearances, not many of the squad would be able to call themselves a World Cup winner.
Calvert-Lewin burst onto the scene when he fired England to Under-20 World Cup glory in 2017 when they beat Colombia 1-0 in the final.
Alongside fellow team-mates Fikayo Tomori, Lewis Cook and Dominic Solanke, fans quickly put pressure on these Young Lions to perform at a consistent level for their club.
Calvert-Lewin played a handful of times for the then-Everton boss Marco Silva in the 2018-19 season, scoring eight goals in 38 appearances but he wasn’t given a continuous run of games for the club.
The 2019-20 season saw him start on the bench and watch Cenk Tosun lead the line. This all changed though when the Portuguese manager was sacked last December.
Ever since then, the 23-year-old hasn’t looked back and has thoroughly deserved the comparisons to Drogba and Inzaghi. If he carries on this upward trajectory, soaking up every word his manager says, he could help fire Everton into Europe and see himself play a key role for England next summer.
By Jon Bazley
