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Everton and Dominic Calvert-Lewin will profit from Gareth Southgate's England squad
Gareth Southgate announced his final pre-World Cup squad for England’s Nations League matches against Italy and Germany and with a surprise name making the team.
Brentford’s Ivan Toney secured a spot in Southgate’s side after an impressive start to the Premier League season, although it seems this may spell the end for an Everton forward’s World Cup dreams.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin may have been hoping to make a last-ditch attempt to make Southgate’s squad but little game time and injuries have ultimately cost him a place.
The place to be England captain Harry Kane’s deputy was up for grabs but injured Calvert-Lewin, Newcastle’s Callum Wilson, Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford and Aston Villa’s misfiring Ollie Watkins have all lost out.
Southgate’s decisions now give a strong indicator to the squad he’ll take to Qatar in the next few months and Calvert-Lewin’s chances now look extremely slim.
Selfishly, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing for the Toffees, as the 25-year-old has had a torrid time with injuries and a winter break wouldn’t go amiss.
Needed.
With Calvert-Lewin set to miss out on a spot in Gareth Southgate’s side, he will have the chance to fully hit the ground running in the next few months and then get a break.
The forward is expected to return to Frank Lampard’s squad this weekend and the Toffees need him to get back to full fitness and firing once again.
Calvert-Lewin has shown he can be a formidable problem to Premier League defences, it just seems he has lost confidence in the midst of his injuries.
And with Lampard complaining about the lack of investment in forwards for his team this summer, Calvert-Lewin’s presence has never been needed more.
Every player faces adversity in their career, but the fact Lampard fought hard to keep the forward at the club speaks volumes.
The Toffees have everything to gain from DCL and nothing to lose; he signed for a measly £1.5million in 2016 and was one of the Premier League’s hottest properties after the 2020/2021 season.
Let’s hope he can get back on the right track; his goals are needed now more than ever at Everton.