In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, former Premier League striker Marlon Harewood revealed he has not been surprised by the impact Dominic Calvert-Lewin has made at Everton this season.
The 23-year-old has been spearheading the Toffees’ push for Champions League football, scoring an impressive 13 goals in English football’s top flight so far.
Not always being a regular at Goodison Park, Calvert-Lewin’s explosion may have come as a surprise to some. That, however, has not been the case for Harewood, who shared his long-time admiration for the player.
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On £40.5m-rated Calvert-Lewin, the former West Ham and Aston Villa centre-forward told FFC:
“I haven’t been surprised because I’ve followed him, obviously strikers follow strikers, and he’s been a very top-class striker for many years. It’s just he hasn’t really had the time to shine. Since the new manager’s come in, he’s put a lot of faith in him and helped him along the way because he’s worked with a lot of top–class strikers.
“[He’s] showing him what he needs to concentrate on and once you get that understanding of ‘I want you to score goals, I want you to get into the box, I want you to look at videos, I want you to react to things, I don’t want you coming out of that area’, it just shows really. He’s been in those positions where he’s been threatening on goal and it’s just worked out for him.”
Last season was hardly a terrible a campaign for the England international either, where he also managed to reach double figures in the Premier League.
He scored 13 goals, with Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal all clubs succumbing to the No.9’s finishing prowess, showing that he is also the man for the big occasion.
Calvert-Lewin has been making a name for himself on the international stage, too, scoring on his England debut against Wales before netting versus the Republic of Ireland.
The Everton man will now be hoping to get the call-up when England’s squad for the European Championships this summer is announced.