‘Fit’ Dominic Calvert-Lewin essential for Everton survival in Premier League – Sam Allardyce
Sam Allardyce believes that Everton must keep star striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin fit if they want to avoid having a similar campaign to the last one.
The Toffees had a turbulent time in the previous season where they narrowly managed to escape relegation in the final days of the Premier League campaign.
Speaking on the Total Football podcast on BBC Sounds, the 67-year-old stated that the England international will be the “mainstay” for the Merseyside club in the attacking department this season, especially after selling Richarlison to Tottenham Hotspur.
“Last year they were so close to getting relegated and I think the only way they managed to stay up was the three teams below them being worse,” he said.
“They were pretty fortunate in the end. Who knows what’ll happen this year? They’ve sold their striker, so that’s a big blow for Frank – how do you replace his goals?
“Hopefully he’ll keep one man fit who didn’t keep fit last year and that’s Dominic Calvert-Lewin. He’s the mainstay for Everton on doing anything other than playing in the bottom half of the league next year.”
Important
Everton entered the campaign knowing that they will be without at least one of their star forwards as both Richarlison and Calvert-Lewin were attracting interest from a number of clubs in the Premier League.
Out of the two, the England international ended up staying at Goodison Park, largely because of an injury that ruled him out of action for the first six weeks.
Even though the Toffees have managed to sign Neal Maupay from Brighton in the last few days of the recently concluded transfer window, they are likely to be still relying on the productivity of the England international who has been the main source of goals for the Merseyside club over the last few seasons alongside Richarlison.
The fans will be hoping that the 25-year-old will return to full fitness sooner than later and will start contributing to the team’s cause.
Calvert-Lewin has represented Everton in 191 matches across all competitions where he has managed to score 58 goals and provided 18 assists [Transfermarkt].