Everton’s start to the season was being built as an impressive one as they were yet to concede and taste defeat in the first two games. However, the narrative completely changed after the third game as they became the team to have scored just once.
Everton’s no.9 woes
The Toffees have looked defensively solid ever since Yerry Mina and Michael Keane have formed a strong partnership at the back. But you don’t win football games if you aren’t able to score at the other end. Everton’s strike force has been a bit of an issue for some time.
They signed Cenk Tosun for a fee of £27m in January 2018, but that move didn’t work out well. Dominic Calvert-Lewin soon became the first choice option, and he did seem better than Turkish international.
In a big show of confidence, the club offered Calvert-Lewin the no. 9 jersey this season which is traditionally given to a prolific striker. It became clear that Silva was backing the English striker to take on the goal scoring burden of the side. However, he is yet to open his account this season. It isn’t that the Merseyside club have faced tough opponents so far as they have been handed a pretty kind set of fixtures early on as they played Crystal Palace, Watford and Aston Villa in their first three games.
Watford have looked woeful defensively so far and even against them, Calvert-Lewin wasn’t too useful. It’s true that he can drop in deep and hold up play well, link with his team-mates and get them into the game. However, a striker’s primary job is to deliver goals, and the English forward has struggled to do that. Last season, the 22-year-old managed six goals in 35 appearances in the Premier League. This is indeed not good enough for a team who are looking to challenge the big 6.
Time to give Kean a chance
Everton’s kind set of fixtures is set to continue as they will face W0lves, Bournemouth and Sheffield United next. We think that it is time for Silva to dump Calvert-Lewin in favour of Moise Kean who has looked bright in little cameos. Kean provided some clear cut chances to his team-mates which they failed to take against Villa.
The Italian international seems to be a more natural goal scorer, and he has shown that he will get into the right place for a striker. Calvert-Lewin often doesn’t get into many goal scoring positions, and that is one of the primary reasons why the Englishman has been ineffective so far.
