Sky Sports pundit shares what ‘really unlucky’ Dominic Calvert-Lewin needs to do now amid Everton prediction
Sky Sports pundit Jay Bothroyd believes if Dominic Calvert-Lewin can stay fit then Everton can achieve a mid-table finish this season.
The Toffees racked up a fourth straight Premier League win by beating Burnley 2-0 on Saturday (16 December) and are now seven points clear of the drop zone despite their contentious 10-point deduction.
Bothroyd, speaking on Sky Sports News on Monday (18 December), thinks Calvert-Lewin – who endured a couple of injury-hit campaigns – can be crucial in helping them continue to climb the table.
He said: “When you look at Dwight McNeil now and (Jack) Harrison on the other side he’s (Sean Dyche) saying to them ‘get the ball in the box, when you get in that attacking third I want you putting that ball in the box for the likes of Calvert-Lewin and Doucoure on the other side’.
“I think Calvert-Lewin needs to stay fit, he’s been really unlucky with injuries, but if he can stay fit and they can keep doing what they’re doing – if they had the 10 points they’d be in eighth position – if they can keep doing what they’re doing it could be a mid-table finish for them.”
Team player
There is absolutely no doubt that Calvert-Lewin being fit is a huge boost for Everton, even if he is not yet exactly firing on all cylinders with only three goals from 13 Premier League appearances.
But it is not just the goals he contributes, it is his hold-up play, his ability to run the channels and bring others into the game – so he should be judged on more than his goal output.
If he can start to add the goals back to his game, though, then what a huge boost it would be to Dyche and Everton and, even in spite of the 10 points lost (lest we forget Everton have challenged the decision) then a top-half finish is well within reach.
It is a testament to Dyche and all the players that they are in this position, but in fairness the Toffees’ form was excellent even before the punishment was administered. Long may it continue.
In other Everton news, Garth Crooks hailed a “dangerous” Toffees duo against Burnley.