OF GOODISON Ancelotti tells Calvert-Lewin to get selfish as new boss has star feeling a ‘foot taller’
DOMINIC Calvert-Lewin is ready to get selfish to make 2020 a year to remember — with the blessing of Carlo Ancelotti.
There might be no I in Team – but for Everton striker CalvertLewin going it alone is the way forward to take his game to the next level.
The 22-year-old Sheffield-born star has never lacked potential but regular goals have been the missing ingredient in a career that’s just short of 100 Premier League games.
But after scoring five in his last seven games Calvert-Lewin heads to Anfield in the FA Cup today believing, with Ancelotti in his corner, he’s set to fly.
The highly-decorated Italian boss has managed some of football’s greatest strikers – Cristiano Ronaldo (below), Andriy Shevchenko, Zlatan Ibrahimovic (top), Filippo Inzaghi , Robert Lewandowski and Hernan Crespo.
And Calvert-Lewin is already benefiting from Ancelotti after his new boss showered him with praise claiming he could be one of the best strikers in Europe before he had even unpacked his suitcase on Merseyside.
“He’s said very kind words from the start and coming from a man of his pedigree, the clubs he has worked at with some of the best players in the world that’s great.
“I feel a foot taller and it’s all I can ask for really,” says CalvertLewin. “He has kept it quite
■■Liverpool and Everton have met in the FA Cup 24 times previously, making it the most played match in the history of the competition. simple allowing me to enjoy my football which I think has shown this past month.
“He wants me to try and stay more central in between the two centre-halves and focus on getting around the goal more, getting in the six-yard box.
“It is something I’ve been guilty of at times, running here, there and everywhere and not being enough of a goal threat.
“Being selfish is probably the word I am looking for. As a striker, you are judged on your goals.
“I went on a decent run of form at the end of last season but didn’t get my reward in terms of goals.
“But if you look at the last five games, if I can continue doing that with goals added to my game as well, there is not a lot people can say.”
With Liverpool in orbit it’s hardly a great time to be going to Anfield – especially for an Everton team mauled 5-2 on enemy territory a month ago.
But with Ancelotti in the hot-seat, Calvert-Lewin believes the timing is perfect and Everton have nothing to fear. “I feel we have come close in previous years in some of the games I’ve played in – we’ve just been unfortunate not to nick a goal and kind of get a foothold in the game.
“Liverpool are a top team but, regardless of who they put out, we can only focus on ourselves and what we can do. We were in a bad place at the start of the month, but it’s unbelievable the momentum shift that we’ve managed to create.
“We are in a different place now and are going to Anfield much more confident and backing ourselves a lot more.
“And I am the most confident I have ever been on a football pitch. That has come with goals.
“Being Everton’s number nine comes with great responsibility. It is nothing I have shied away from. I have taken it in my stride.
“But maybe if you do not score for a few games you start to feel it a little bit. It is a learning experience. Those times make you stronger and have prepared me for where I am now.
“And now when I go out on the pitch I genuinely believe I can score in every game.”
Ancelotti’s arrival has released a surge of optimism through Goodison – and Calvert-Lewin reckons the future for Merseyside isn’t just red.
“He’s one of those guys, when he walks in the room you know he’s there. He has a presence and aura about him,” he says.
“It’s a real statement of intent to get a manager of his calibre and it can only be a good thing going forward.”
Calvert-Lewin is now targeting a place in Gareth Southgate’s England squad for Euro 2020.
“Who knows? Things change quickly in football. I would have to pick off the centre-forwards in the team. I just want to enjoy myself and score more goals.
“If an England call comes from that, I would be the happiest man alive.”