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Dominic Calvert-Lewin shows a real price
Dominic Calvert-Lewin racked up his 150th Everton appearance against the same team where he made his debut with Ronald Koeman in 2016.
A lot has changed since then. And time does not fly?
Calvert-Lewin is a different beast. It is stronger, faster, more powerful. You wonder if Koeman would even recognize the massive center forward compared to the boy he left behind.
Koeman, of course, qualified the striker, but was only able to find room for him on the flank and, interestingly, on the right-back for most of his ill-fated tenure.
However, the Dutchman was not the only one who had doubts. In fact, if we’re honest, how many people can say that they were able to see their unprecedented rise to the Premier League this time around last year when Calvert-Lewin had started on the road to goals with Duncan Ferguson? It was just a purple stain, a trust spell. It was not so?
No, no and not again.
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The 23-year-old would have had his 47th goal under his belt for Everton had it not been an own goal by Rob Holding, but imagine his stats over the next 150 games.
He’s 14 in all competitions and he’s still in the right positions. No, it wasn’t his goal against the Gunners, but without him there, teasing, heading, jumping higher than often seems humanly possible, Holding is comfortably clearing the ball.
You can no longer talk about price with Calvert-Lewin. What he is giving Everton and Carlo Ancelotti’s project is priceless. Even when they don’t score, their contagious work rate sets the tone for everyone around them.
In 150 games, Calvert-Lewin is fast becoming the best pound-for-pound signing in Everton’s modern history.
For 150 more, and a ton of goals along the way.
Tom Davies asks Carlo Ancelotti
An Andre Gomes precautionary absence gave Tom Davies a chance. He was up against Arsenal from the start, in midfield for the first time since the win over Brighton and Hove Albion in October, and for the most part there was nothing else he could have done.
Davies was orderly, energetic and controlled in the center, which allowed Abdoulaye Doucoure to do the initial pressure.
It was an important night for the 22-year-old who will no doubt be aware of the growing line that filters through the locker room door at Finch Farm.
Doucoure and Allan are undoubted regulars, while Gylfi Sigurdsson, Gomes and Davies battle for the other spot, with Fabian Delph also before his injury.
The imminent return of Jean-Philippe Gbamin makes for an even more crowded position.
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It seems to be very heavy and Everton have to make a transfer decision in January. Do they really need seven players for three positions? Perhaps Ancelotti would say yes, especially considering his recent hint about the hiring of Sami Khedira from Juventus.
But let’s go back to Davies. Where does this performance leave you? Well, putting aside the penalty incident, it hasn’t hurt his chances of starting against Manchester United.
His foul on Ainsley Maitland-Niles might not have happened in previous years, and he showed the right mindset to respond and help Everton to victory with momentum and the desire to rush the hard yards.
Gomes’ short-term role in this team is also under scrutiny, with the same midfielder admitting that he continues to seek full fitness after the terrible injury he suffered last year. The next few months, even the games, could be crucial for both of you.
Any one of them who gets the go-ahead for United’s visit on Wednesday has a real chance to make sure they’re higher up in that pecking order when the next two transfer windows roll around.
Alex Iwobi solves the mystery of the transfer
Save the magnifying glass and clue board.
Finally, perhaps, the mystery of the transference surrounding Alex Iwobi seems to have been solved by the man himself.
Iwobi is in his career form at Everton and may have left Arsenal with his own transfer regret at Goodison Park.
Okay, let’s not get carried away after a month of good performances. The 24-year-old still needs to work on his final ball and decision-making, but he’s beginning to ease the 34 million-pound questions that have surrounded his purchase for nearly 18 months.
To be fair, he’s incredibly positive about wanting possession and his work pace, supporting an out-of-position Mason Holgate, remains underrated. When he received the ball against Arsenal, his first thought was always to get up front.
That boost eventually paid off when he pitched Dominic Calvert-Lewin, whose header was ultimately declared an own goal by Rob Holding. But how Arsenal would have loved their own Iwobi on Saturday.
Holgate and Ben Godfrey, as solid as they performed, rarely struggled until the final stages of victory. Iwobi, on the other hand, remained in the vicinity, supporting, lounging, ready to reach Ainsley Maitland-Niles.
He’s in a tough position, Iwobi, because James Rodriguez remains inescapable if he’s fit enough to face Manchester United in the middle of the week.
Where would that leave Iwobi? Probably at the bank.
But doubts no longer circulate so intensely. Everton fans returning to Goodison Park have been treated with an Iwobi that grafts, runs and, while far from the finished article, possesses the kind of outspokenness that can hurt the opposition at this level.
Ancelotti clearly rates him and it is another in the long list of recent success stories that are beginning to prosper under his positive management.
With two assists in the previous two games, let him continue.
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