30/10/2024 43comments  |  Jump to last

Everton have no intention of selling Dominic Calvert-Lewin during the winter transfer window and the striker’s contract situation will have no bearing on how Sean Dyche uses him for the remainder of the season.

Calvert-Lewin is out-of-contract at the end of this season and will be able to discuss terms in January with other clubs with an eye on a free transfer next summer but reports claim that the Club would rather risk losing him for nothing next June than cashing in halfway through the campaign.

That’s because Dyche sees him as integral to Everton’s main goal of Premier League survival this season. The 27-year-old has scored just twice so far in 2024-25 but is pivotal to the way the Blues play under the current manager.

“The number one priority since I’ve been here is safeguarding our status,” Dyche said last week. “Along the journey, we’ve obviously had to bring money in but fortunately have never been pushed as far as giving players away for any cost.

Article continues below video content


“We can still make decisions on situations and I can’t see anything other than Dom certainly being here until the end of his contract and then hopefully beyond.

“I have an opinion of course on player trading, players in, players out, contracts. Kev (Sporting Director Kevin Thelwell) will take care of the business side of the club and we’ve worked pretty well together so far. We are pretty much aligned in what we think.”

And in terms of limiting Calvert-Lewin’s playing time this season due to doubts over whether he will remain with the Club beyond the summer, Dyche said: “I don’t do that. He will just keep playing. Get the shirt on, play hard, those are the rules. All the rest of it will look after itself.”

Calvert-Lewin was offered a new contract at Everton last summer but it remained on the table as he entertained a potential move to Newcastle United and left his options open after talks with the Magpies collapsed.

At present, he is not minded to re-open negotiations with the Toffees and will likely wait and see whether The Friedkin Group’s proposed takeover goes through before the end of the year and then whether Dyche will remain in charge next season.

There have been unconfirmed suggestions that the striker and his manager don’t always see eye-to-eye, although terse exchanges between the two have been observed by fans during matches and the former Sheffield United forward is said to be frustrated at times with the team’s tactics.

“He’s been here quite a long time,” Dyche said of Calvert-Lewin potentially keeping his options open. “He might be thinking, ‘Which way is the club going? Which way am I going? What’s my part in it?’ I don’t think that would be unreasonable.

“Until the [Friedkin Group] deal is actually done, it is just a pointless task to start going ‘Oh yeah, what if this, what if that’.”

 

Reader Comments (43)

Note: the following content is not moderated or vetted by the site owners at the time of submission. Comments are the responsibility of the poster. Disclaimer ()


Peter Gorman
1 Posted 30/10/2024 at 19:00:30
We're in danger of losing him for nothing, especially when he keeps putting himself in the shop window with his lethal finishing.
Christy Ring
2 Posted 30/10/2024 at 19:11:21
Peter #1,

You might think it's a funny comment, but even listening to Walcott on Match of the Day, he said it's not a nice job totally isolated upfront on his own against two centre-backs, winning headers and no one there to meet his flick-ons.

Les Callan
3 Posted 30/10/2024 at 19:14:33
Nice one, Peter.
Ben King
4 Posted 30/10/2024 at 19:15:31
Calvert-Lewin has done an above-average job in tough circumstances during arguably a shitshow.

Given what he's endured – and the waning affection for him given his profligate finishing – perhaps a parting of the ways is best for all this summer.

Shame as I used to revere him and defend him to the hilt but the truth is, he's an above-average Premier League striker who's below average at finishing.

Mike Doyle
5 Posted 30/10/2024 at 19:15:56
Peter.

I wonder if the fact that both Dyche's and Thelwell's contracts also expire this summer will influence their thinking?

I see that approximately half the current squad contracts expire this summer too. Could be an interesting few months.

Ernie Baywood
6 Posted 30/10/2024 at 19:23:35
Ben, I think you're right – that's exactly what he is. And we struggle to get above average players, generally.

I think a move will be good for him. Not us.

Kieran Kinsella
7 Posted 30/10/2024 at 19:27:05
Mike Doyle,

You bring up a very interesting point. Suppose Thelwell gets tapped up by a wealthier club or a foreign team, he may want to bring Calvert-Lewin along with him.

If the Friedkin deal happens, then rightly or wrongly, I imagine they will clear the decks and bring in their own people next summer – just because that is what new owners tend to do.

Derek Knox
8 Posted 30/10/2024 at 19:41:16
While I appreciate being a lone striker is a difficult role, but the way we play doesn't do a lot to help.

Plus Calvert-Lewin has a tendency to drift out wide, where scoring is highly unlikely. His return for an alleged top striker is very poor indeed.

Paul Kernot
9 Posted 30/10/2024 at 20:04:23
I just watched a Classic Match from 14 years ago. We thrashed Fulham 4 - 0 and hell we looked good. Played real football. Jelavic got 2, Felaini 1 and the other I don't remember but we outclassed them all over the pitch.

Great control. Dominant midfield, fast and accurate distribution, brilliant wing play and great finishing.

What a comparison to Saturday's game v Fulham.

Michael Gwyer
10 Posted 30/10/2024 at 20:17:57
I honestly can't believe what I'm reading from this article or some supporters.

Calvert-Lewin is one of the most terrible forwards I have ever seen. His hold-up play is not amazing, stats prove that. He missed many times a lot of balls up to him.

He has one of the worst conversion rates of any starting forward in Premier League history. He has just over 50 goals in what... 9 seasons.

Look what Brentford did with Toney, that was proper management. We let very poor footballers dictate what they are doing at our club, we never used to let that happen. And our fans need to stop accepting this dross from a rubbish player.

Martin Mason
11 Posted 30/10/2024 at 20:18:59
Is Calvert-Lewin moving wide to get the ball not just his only way of being able to get it?
Shaun Parker
12 Posted 30/10/2024 at 20:24:56
If I were Calvert-Lewin, I would be off. I agree in that he gets very little service and is expected to pull a rabbit out the hat each game from the long punts of Pickford.

He's expected to work miracles as a long striker week in week out. Working as a lone striker may work for the top clubs but we just don't have the creative players to back him up.

I sympathise with Calvert-Lewin, no service means he is always looking for scraps.

Granted he did not do himself any favours against the Palace was it? 3 golden opportunities were missed, any top striker would have buried those.

I like the lad but feel something would need to change.

Shaun Parker
13 Posted 30/10/2024 at 20:25:53
Paul at #9, was it not Moyes who built that team?
Peter Gorman
14 Posted 30/10/2024 at 20:36:26
Whisht, whisht Shaun, don't let them see you making that connection.
Jim Bennings
15 Posted 30/10/2024 at 20:40:10
He's seeing out the season, we knew this when the August window closed.

Nobody will come in with an offer in January when he will be available for nowt in June.

It's time for us to stop putting all the eggs in this basket now, he's not signing a contract; if he was signing one, then he'd have done it 6 months ago.

I thank him for some decent months during the Carlo Ancelotti tenure and also the wonderful header against Liverpool in April and the performance.

However, Dom isn't a great football player technically, the ball at his feet still looks like a hot potato even 8 years on from his Everton debut.

He's never been a cold clinical finisher either and that's something else that's never really improved in 8 years, he's missed the same chances since Day 1.

I wish him well though.

Shaun Parker
16 Posted 30/10/2024 at 20:40:57
🤣

I'm not advocating for his return Peter, just acknowledging that he did build a good squad and a team that could play.

I mean .,.,.

Howard
Stones
Digne
Distin
Baines
Mirallas
Cahill
Osman
Naismith
Lukaku
Fellani
Barry
Yakubu
Carsley
Graveson
Arteta
Siggurdson
Lescott
Peinaar
Jagielka

Derek Knox
17 Posted 30/10/2024 at 20:58:33
Shaun, agree that team would be hard to beat — especially if they allowed us to play all 20! :-)
Christy Ring
18 Posted 30/10/2024 at 20:59:48
Shaun,

Just wondering… Martinez bought Lukaku and Barry, Silva signed Digne, Koeman signed Sigurdsson.

You'd better check Moyes's signings again?

Shaun Parker
19 Posted 30/10/2024 at 21:03:21
Yeah, fair point, Christy, I was not sure to be honest but I do miss this quality of player we used to have.

Of them all, I think Pienaar was my favourite.

Neil Lawson
20 Posted 30/10/2024 at 22:09:35
Interesting scenario.

If there is a disconnect with Dyche, then you have to give credit to Calvert-Lewin for being committed and hardworking on the pitch. It would be easy to down tools given he has no support and a thankless task isolated upfront.

I tend to think that there can not be a rift. If there were, I have no doubt that stubborn, obstinate Dyche would not pick him. But all is not well and getting to the heart of it is not possible at the moment.

If Calvert-Lewin had some support and someone who just may, occasionally, put a half-decent cross in, he would create more chances and knock at least some of them in.

But Dyche won't change and Calvert-Lewin is being professional, even if that means keeping his options open until the takeover is over and season ends. Who can blame him?

Jamie Lenard
21 Posted 30/10/2024 at 22:48:41
A striker that cannot strike a ball, but he's a good hold up man they say. So was Dick Turpin.

Another modern day player who's more athlete than footballer.

Les Callan
22 Posted 30/10/2024 at 22:50:46
Neil: “hardworking and committed”?

He looked anything but against Fulham.

Andy Mead
23 Posted 30/10/2024 at 23:41:38
I think it's a combination of Calvert-Lewin waiting to see if Dyche is here next season, as he can't enjoy playing in the role he currently does. Also, new owners might offer him a better contract than is currently the table perhaps?

Either way, he would be a decent bench warmer for a team looking to get into the Champions League or a starter for a lower or mid-table Premier League side.

He really can't lose at the moment, can he? All we can do is offer a contract which we feel is fair and Thelwell needs to look at possible replacements in the summer if he does leave.

For far too long we have kept all our eggs in the Calvert-Lewin basket. That has to stop now.

Ernie Baywood
24 Posted 30/10/2024 at 23:55:17
Shaun, I would advocate for Moyes's return but possibly not as manager. He's probably a better strategic guy than he is a coach.

He actually had a plan for building a team, embedding an identity, sought out players who would fit that mould, and gradually brought them into the first team.

Whether you liked his football or not, the man had a plan. We've missed that kind of thinking and action since he left. He was a one-man show who covered a lot of gaps that gradually became evident once he left.

Jerome Shields
25 Posted 31/10/2024 at 04:51:17
Ernie #24,

He did do that, but he allowed complacency to develop in players. They became dependent on the comfort of his organisation and parental Finch Farm.

When Martinez came in, he shook them all up, pushing them to attack. but the comfort and compliancy came back at the back and Martinez was ill-equipped to deal with it. Even Ancelotti found it difficult to deal with.

Alan J Thompson
26 Posted 31/10/2024 at 05:40:59
Regardless of what we think about his performance, I don't see this type of announcement from the club as being good business acumen.

Would it not have been better to have said nothing and waited to see if any offers are made, or just to have said negotiations are ongoing? Either way, it is likely that he is off at season's end either because somebody meets his wage demands or he sees no likely change in our style of play, something reminiscent of Digne's situation.

If Dyche thinks that Calvert-Lewin will be considered for selection while he is here, then he must think he is one of – if not our best striker – at least until some injuries clear up; so why not help with PSR or raise part of the cost of his replacement by trying to get some income from his transfer, or at least not deterring any interested parties?

Steve Shave
27 Posted 31/10/2024 at 05:53:18
Jamie @21 that made me spit my tea out, nice one. :)

Alan @26 I am not so sure, you could look at it another way, we are sort of saying here, we won't be selling in January. That means that any clubs who really want him will have to put in a decent offer.

Personally, I will be sad to see him go; I'd like to see what he could do in a team with some players around him.

Jerome Shields
28 Posted 31/10/2024 at 06:02:40
Alan #26,

I agree, but Everton can't help themselves in trying to drum up interest. This will be what it is like right up till the January window.

Steve Shave
29 Posted 31/10/2024 at 07:27:05
Shaun @16 that was a really good squad, assembled on peanuts.

It amazes me really that some still question the quality of the job Moyes did for us for many years. He personally scouted most of his signings and was known to be meticulous (Krøldrup aside!) about character and mentality.

What we wouldn't give to see Baines and Pienaar linking up on the left again, the Yak waiting in the box.

Laurie Hartley
30 Posted 31/10/2024 at 07:40:44
If he is off at the end of the season for nothing, which seems highly likely, then why is he getting a start before Beto? It's not because he scores regularly.

Surely it would make more sense to give Beto a run of games. I would back him in to score more goals than Calvert-Lewin over the course of a season.

Ernie Baywood
31 Posted 31/10/2024 at 07:51:58
Alan, it's the opposite, isn't it?

No-one will be deterred, but the message is that we're quite prepared to hold him to the end of his contract and anyone waiting might miss their chance if they give him time to sign a new contract.

If he'd said "We've got no choice but to sell him in January" then the urgency is all with Everton.

Danny O'Neill
32 Posted 31/10/2024 at 07:53:11
I know it's all opinion based and some of a certain generation have fond memories of Moyes, my brother included. But for me, it's a no.

We need to be moving forward, not looking back, if and when we change.

On Dominic, I think he's running his contract down, but can't see where he will go. He apparently priced himself out of Newcastle with his wage demand, and maybe that's been a stalling point with Everton?

You never know, but I suspect he will go abroad. Maybe the next one to head to Saudi?

Sam Hoare
33 Posted 31/10/2024 at 08:02:06
If Calvert-Lewin had moved to Newcastle for £25M this summer, I think most would have said farewell to a decent player who scored a few goals, worked hard in a tough system, and made us a good profit with which to buy a new player.

If he leaves for free in order to snaffle a bigger contract, then that's perfectly within his rights of course but will change the way he's remembered, especially after what is looking like a low-scoring season for him.

Beto is not as good a centre-forward but could actually score more goals. I'm also curious to see what Broja and Chermiti can do. If we could get £10-15M for Calvert-Lewin in January, I'd sell him in a heartbeat and re-invest.

Jimmy Salt
34 Posted 31/10/2024 at 08:09:22
“I don't do that. He will just keep playing. Get the shirt on, play hard, those are the rules. All the rest of it will look after itself.”

It just doesn't work like that anymore, Sean.

Alan J Thompson
35 Posted 31/10/2024 at 08:21:53
Ernie (#31);

Perhaps it might have been better if Dyche had limited himself to "Until I'm told otherwise, he still an Everton player".

Jim Bennings
36 Posted 31/10/2024 at 08:27:38
Talk of Baines and Pienaar, just don't, makes me pine for the days when Everton could actually complete with the top 5 and weren't a billion miles away from winning a trophy.

One of the biggest things I hate about this Everton side is how we don't have fullbacks that can push on anymore and have cultured left or right feet.

Patterson should have been it but never will be now, I think I've accepted this.

Mykolenko solid defender he is, will never come close to the previous two left backs we had that carried the torch before him.

I hope when, or rather if, the Friedkin's take over, they prioritize getting Everton an actual good team again and it's not all just flannel.

Robert Tressell
37 Posted 31/10/2024 at 08:35:10
To highlight our challenge of improving on DCL, his 2 Premier League goals this season.

Same as:

- Rutter (£45m)
- Solanke (£65m)
- Isak (£70m)
- Evanilson (£37m)

More than a few players on just one goal - albeit played a few less games:

- Zirkzee (£45m)
- Nunez (£85m)
- Hojlund (70m)

More than a few still on no goals:

- Nketiah (£30m)
- Richarlison (£60m)

And finally a player touted by many as being much better than DCL

- Adebayo: 2 goals in 11 games in the Championship for Luton.

There will be all sorts of options - and some of them pretty good but it remains a real challenge to get hold of a striker who will get more than 12 goals.

Jerome Shields
38 Posted 31/10/2024 at 08:57:27
Robert#37

It's ironic that If Dominic had been able to take chances he would have been better than any of them

Sam#33

Not getting Calvert Lewin sold to Newcastle was a setback.

Ernie#31

Just words to set Everton's,s negotiating position regarding Calvert Lewin future.

Just like'Calvert Leon and Beto ,no for sale'In other words they are both for sale at a price..

Joe McMahon
39 Posted 31/10/2024 at 08:59:42
I honestly feel its best for both parties if he leaves. We cannot keep carrying non scoring strikers, in the Dyche system, if he stays. Amongst many the miss a Villa park shows we need someone who can strike a ball. If that goes in at Villa at that stage in the game we would have collected 3 points.
Robert Tressell
40 Posted 31/10/2024 at 09:20:40
Jerome # 38, I think that's why DCL will not be short of suitors come the summer. He is not good enough to be the regular starting striker at a Champions League club - but he could be an excellent option for a team like, say, Arsenal in games where the more delicate technical play of Havertz or Jesus isn't working. For free and the same sort of wage they were paying Eddie Nketiah, you can see why he would be attractive. As we know, if you have quality play and delivery from the flanks then DCL will score goals and is one of the best headers of the ball in the Premier League. But because he lacks natural ability, he's not going to score from through balls. He needs crosses.

Christopher Timmins
41 Posted 31/10/2024 at 09:29:59
I think he will move on at the end of the season and his hard work and ability to win headers in both penalty areas will be important in keeping us safe from a relegation struggle.

Given the lack of talent that we have in the team I would rather have him up top than a Havertz.

I will wish him luck if and when he moves.

Mark Murphy
42 Posted 31/10/2024 at 09:32:47
This time next year he will be back in the England squad and we will wish we had convinced him to stay.
UTFT
Geoff Lambert
43 Posted 31/10/2024 at 10:11:49
He needs a song poor guy..
How about "He shot he missed he must be fuking pissed DCL DCL Might tempt him to stay if he gets his deserved pay rise 125 thousand pounds a week.

Add Your Comments

In order to post a comment, you need to be logged in as a registered user of the site.

» Log in now

Or Sign up as a ToffeeWeb Member — it's free, takes just a few minutes and will allow you to post your comments on articles and Talking Points submissions across the site.



How to get rid of these ads and support TW

© ToffeeWeb