Everton will play at Goodison Park for the final time next week, hosting relegated Southampton in the penultimate game of the season.
When summer comes along, David Moyes will be deep in preparations for the upcoming campaign, which will see Everton step into Bramley Moore and push for a place higher up the Premier League table. This will be the fourth successive campaign that the Toffees will finish in the bottom half, and the fifth in six terms.
Moyes is a shrewd and critical manager and he won’t shy away from making sweeping changes this summer. One of which may be allowing Dominic Calvert-Lewin to leave at the end of his contract.
Why Dominic Calvert-Lewin must leave Everton
Calvert-Lewin has been playing his football on Merseyside for nearly nine years, joining Everton from Sheffield United for a £1.5m fee in 2016.
At his best, the England international is a powerful and purposeful forward, adept in the air and a real focal point for his teammates to target.
However, injuries have become commonplace in Calvert-Lewin’s career over the past several years, and given his profligacy when available this season, it seems risky to renew his deal.
Especially given Beto has outperformed him since Moyes’ winter appointment.
Matches (starts)
23 (19)
27 (12)
Goals
3
7
Assists
1
0
Shots (on target)*
2.0 (0.8)
1.5 (0.7)
Big chances missed
13
9
Pass completion
64%
57%
Key passes*
0.3
0.3
Dribbles*
0.4
0.6
Duels won*
5.5
4.7
Beto’s recent form, which includes six goals from 11 Premier League starts, could see him start the new campaign as Moyes’ number one at number nine.
However, the £100k-per-week Calvert-Lewin must go, for the Merseysiders have a rising star who could take his place.
Everton must unleash their new Lukaku
Everton need a striker for the ages, one in a similar vein to Romelu Lukaku, who scored 87 goals and provided 27 assists across 166 appearances before signing for Manchester United in a deal initially worth £75m.
The Belgian’s power and confidence were at their highest peak during his time at Goodison Park, all concentrated into something pointed.
Youssef Chermiti could be the perfect heir. The Portuguese youth international is very much in the maiden stage of his career, and while he hasn’t made the mark on Merseyside that he would have hoped for, there’s plenty of time for that to change.
Described as a “superb prospect” by talent scout Jacek Kulig, Chermiti has the power and pace to put the fitness troubles of recent years behind him and start showcasing the talent that is clearly within his grasp.
Everton did pay £15m to take him from Sporting Lisbon in Portugal, after all. Framed at 6 foot 4, Chermiti has had to bide his time this season but he’s starting to win Moyes over, it seems, having featured four times off the bench since March.
The 20-year-old’s strength and athleticism even suggest that he could be Everton’s next version of Lukaku, with some remarking that there is an element of an “early Lukaku” to him after returning from injury with far more bulk and brawn about him.
Though all 24 of Chermiti’s senior appearances for Everton have returned little in the way of substance, he’s yet to score or assist, there’s no question he’s making the physical improvements that could marry into his technical game and shape him into Everton’s next Lukaku.
With Calvert-Lewin heading out the door, this could be a shrewd way for Everton to keep things ticking at the striking position, especially if Beto’s form continues into the new campaign.
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