The curious case of Everton striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin | OneFootball

To call Dominic Calvert-Lewin's Everton career a roller coaster ride is both an overuse of a cliche and also somehow remarkably apt.

The striker joined Everton from Sheffield United in the summer of 2016 for a reported €1.8 million at just 19 years of age. He played in just 11 Premier League games in his first season, bagging a single goal in just 347 minutes.

The following season, he nearly quadrupled his appearances (40) and started 22 matches across all competitions, while netting seven goals and adding on six assists.

In 2019/20 he saw his first prolific season under Marco Silva, as he and Richarlison led the Toffees with 15 goals apiece for a team that finished 12th in Premier League and likely underperformed.

But it was the following season under Carlos Ancelotti that raised DCL's profile. He hit the back of the net 21 times across all competitions, all from open play for 10th-place Everton, earning him his first call-up to the England squad, although he missed out on being part of the 2022 World Cup team.

Ever since, he's been a bit of a shell of the player he was under Silva and Ancelotti. He's managed just one full season (38 appearances in 2023/24 with 8 goals), while other years have been injury-plagued and frustration riddled due to poor performances.

And now he's out of contract when the season ends, another injury-marred campaign. He was reportedly offered a new deal last summer, but rejected it, thinking he could get a better offer on the open market.

This season's showing (three goals on 6.1 xG in 22 appearances) may have changed his thinking, with the England international recently coming out and saying that the addition of David Moyes has Everton "moving in the right direction, there's a new stadium and there's a lot to be positive about. Who wouldn't want to be part of that?"

Everton want him to stay if he's amenable to it, but there's also reported interest in Ipswich Town's Liam Delap, whom the Toffees are supposedly "all in" to sign this summer.

If Calvert-Lewin is healthy and in form, he is a bit of a rare player who can both win in the air and use his pace to get past slower centerbacks in the Premier League. But that "if" looms large.

Still, he's been a major contributor to the squad when he's healthy and flying, so if his willing to return on reasonable wages and fight for his spot, then bringing him back might make sense.

Yes, it will create a bit of a logjam at the position, especially if they can successfully pry Delap away from other bigger clubs, but it is a solid idea to bring int he most competition you can and figure out the rest later, especially given the massive nature of the rebuild Everton are about to undergo.