‘I want to prove I am the man to lead the line for Everton’
Dominic Calvert-Lewin goes into Cup derby telling Chris Bascombe how goals are giving him confidence
When Carlo Ancelotti suggested Dominic Calvert-Lewin could become one of Europe’s top strikers it had a profound impact on the young Everton player. “You feel a foot taller,” says the 22-year-old, brimming with enthusiasm. He looks it, too. Calvert Lewin has just entered a huddle of seated journalists and declined the offer of a chair, allowing him to tower over those quizzing him on Ancelotti’s early impact and the chance to end a barren run at Anfield in today’s FA Cup third-round tie.
His body language exudes authority, self-doubts which made him question his worthiness for Everton’s No 9 jersey extinguished. Now he talks about enduring commitment to Everton and his England ambitions.
“I am the most confident I have ever been on a football pitch. That has come with goals,” he says.
“I know I definitely can compete at this level. It is about doing it on a consistent basis and proving I am the man to lead the line for Everton.
“I always believe you will end up where you are meant to be. For me it was just – as everyone knows – being Everton’s No9 comes with great responsibility. It is nothing I have shied away from.
“I have been playing football since I was eight so I know how to play football. But no one can really prepare you for the mental side of things and having 40,000 fans saying you’re not a good player or you don’t belong. There are times you start to doubt yourself a little bit but you have to snap out of it. Now when I go out on the pitch I genuinely believe I can score in every game. The mental battle has been the hardest thing.
“It is something you have to take on the chin and accept responsibility for where you are. There are millions of people who would love to be where I am now so you puff your chest out and think, ‘I will prove you wrong’.”
Calvert-Lewin’s recent five-goal streak followed Duncan Ferguson making him Everton’s undisputed main striker, but Ancelotti’s glowing testimony may be the career gamechanger.
“It was very kind words. For a man of his pedigree and the clubs he has worked at and the players he has worked with, some of the best in the world, to say that,” says Calvert-Lewin.
“He’s one of those guys that when he walks in the room he has that presence and that aura. I’ve seen him on the touchline in the Champions League, but now working with him up close, learning and soaking everything in, it’s an unbelievable time. He seems quite laid back, the instructions he’s given us have been clear and simple, and in such a short time altered the way we want to dominate possession and score goals. We’ve not had a lot of time to implement his plan but the more time we do get, the better it will be.
“It’s a real statement of intent by the club to get a manager of his calibre, getting us back to where we want to be at Everton.”
So what was Ancelotti’s immediate instruction to Calvert-Lewin?
“Be more selfish,” he says. “Try and stay more central in between the two centre-halves, focus on getting around the goal more, getting in the box and the six-yard box.
“I have been guilty of running here, there and everywhere and not being enough of a goal threat. As a striker, you are judged on your goals. If you look at the last five games, if I can continue doing that, there is not a lot people can say after that.”
The goal spree brought talk of a £60million bid from Manchester United, but it is a likely Goodison contract extension that provokes another smile.
“I am scoring goals for Everton and that is all I wanted to do since I joined the club. To be finally doing that now, changing it so soon doesn’t make much sense,” he says. “I am enjoying my football, a big manager has come in and it is the perfect time to be an Everton fan and player.
“To have Carlo Ancelotti and Duncan Ferguson as influences –
I can’t ask for any more. It is nice to be talked about in a positive light. Use it as fuel for performances.”
And then there are international ambitions.
“If an England call comes I would be the happiest man alive,” he says. “Timing is very important. I came close at one point when in the under-21s, but looking back if I am honest with myself I was not ready at that time. Now I am getting as close to being as ready as I have ever been.”
The first priority is to break the Anfield hoodoo. The FA Cup draw was unkind, but Everton are in a different mood to when they lost 5-2 there in a Premier League clash early last month.
“The momentum shift is unbelievable. We were in a bad place at the start of the month. It was sickening and bitterly disappointing what happened there. Now we’re in a much better place,” says CalvertLewin. “We’re going in much more confident and backing ourselves a lot more.”
Calvert-Lewin epitomises that more than anyone.
“For me, it has been about gradual progression,” he says. “Some players hit the heights straight away. For me I was just making sure I was improving, working hard and learning the game, as I still am.
“Thankfully I am where I am. It is all coming together nicely.”