Everton have had quite a promising start to the season under Carlo Ancelotti, besides the current 2 game losing streak they’re on after poor performances against Southampton and Newcastle.
There’s clearly a lot to look forward to for Everton supporters but one question everybody wants to know, is could Ancelotti add another Premier League title with the Toffees? Here’s five reasons why I think the Toffees could challenge for the Premier League under the Italian mastermind. Let’s start with a new high-profile signing and fast-developing striker.
Ever since joining Everton on a free from Real Madrid, Colombian superstar James Rodriguez has been on a mission for the Toffees. He’s been one of, if not the best playmaker in the Premier League within these first few games and his statistics easily back that up.
During his time in blue James has shown his fantastic dribbling ability which is shown by his 2.7 dribbles a game, he’s able to create dangerous attacking scenarios by himself and always finds a way to start an attack with his dribbling ability or his world-class passing which has been his most dangerous weapon while a Toffee.
James is currently tied 3rd (with Jack Harrison and Jack Grealish) for key passes which is a pass that creates a scoring opportunity, where he averages 2.8 per game and has the best pass completion out of the top 10 with an 86.1% completion rate.
His impact is clear as Everton struggled to create chances without him on the field in the Newcastle game, and Ancelotti clearly doesn’t want to risk him getting a serious injury which is why he sat out of the Newcastle game.
One thing that is very clear to Blues supporters is that James will more than likely be the focal point if Everton want to become Premier League champions or even challengers for a Champions League position.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin was always a player with alarming potential in his past few years at Everton, it was clear after Marco Silva departed from the club that it was Duncan Ferguson who knew how to get the best out of Dominic, and this has continued under Carlo Ancelotti who’s clearly a huge fan of the uber-athletic frontman.
The striker has scored 8 goals in his 7 Premier League appearances and 11 in all competitions, which has definitely had highlights, including a hat-trick against West Brom and West Ham, a debut goal for England and being top of the league with Everton until that unfortunate loss to Newcastle.
The forward shocked Everton fans with his rapid ascension this season and one thing that Ancelotti has done to get the best out of Dominic is noticing his aerial ability and his natural goal poaching ability.
The Everton goalscorer is currently winning 4 aerial duels per game and his athleticism in the air was shown by the goal he scored against Liverpool in the Merseyside Derby, leaping over the defenders and firing in a header to make it 2-2 for the Toffees. Four of his 8 goals have come with his head and it seems like Ancelotti is moulding Calvert-Lewin into his new Filippo Inzaghi, a pure goal poacher.
Calvert-Lewin seems to exclusively shoot within the 6-yard box, with 1 of his 3.6 shots per game coming from the 6-yard box and 2 of them coming from inside of the penalty area. In a similar fashion to the previously mentioned Inzaghi, Calvert-Lewin knows where the goal is and where he will be the most effective, especially with the great crossing ability of players like Lucas Digne and James Rodriguez.
One thing that will keep Everton fans happy is that Calvert-Lewin is only 23 years old, which means Everton could have their striker for the next 10 years if Everton can match the rise of this young England international.