Everton could cash in on Calvert-Lewin and sign another striker

Calvert-Lewin's future has been subject to periodic speculation ever since the season finished and Everton offered him a new deal.

So far, he has not signed that contract leaving the Blues in a quandry; do they keep hold of him and risk losing the former England international for nothing next summer, or cash in now?

Newcastle United were the club most strongly linked with a move for the 28-year-old and at one point it looked very likely to happen as manager Eddie Howe was said to be keen on him..

Then for some reason, the Magpies cooled their interest and all the rumours of a possible transfer deal went dead.

To be honest I was surprised by Newcastle's interest in Calvert-Lewin given that he has not exactly set the Premier League alight with his goalscoring exploits.

Last season he managed only seven goals all campaign long despite being healthy, and the year before it was just two in what was another injury-hit season.

This problem staying fit has always been an issue with the player and it was something Sean Dyche was determined to rectify. And he appears to have done just that.

Despite those negatives, Calvert-Lewin is very effective in the air and represents a traditional centre-forward type, which has always been useful and effective in English football. Maybe Howe sees him linking up with Aleksandr Issak.

Today stories in Football Insider say the potential move to Tyneside is not yet over and the Magpies could still come back for Calvert-Lewin before the window shuts on 30th August.

Were Newcastle or someone else to decide they wanted to take a punt on the player, Everton will have that tough choice to make.

For me, it seems as though Calvert-Lewin does not want to stay on Merseyside. Body language is not always easy to dianose, but he looks like he is not 100% committed to the Toffees any more.

That is underlined by the fact he has still not put pen to paper on that new contract sitting on the table.

It appears as though the Blues could get something like £25 million plus for Calvert-Lewin and that sort of money would be useful as Dyche tries to strengthen his still small squad.

Improving the squad also seems even more necessary after Saturday's opening day disaster against Brighton.

While defensively Everton were exposed and conceded some soft goals - largely due to missing Jarrad Branthwaite and relying on Ashley Young at right-back - and lost control of a match that they had been very competitive in earlier on, the key problem again was the lack of cutting edge in front of goal.

In the first half the Toffees had several good chances and failed to take them, which was so often the story of last season.

Had they got any early goal and Calvert-Lewin's penalty claim not been overturned, who knows the Blues could have won that game.

Frankly, Calvert-Lewin does not offer enough threat up front for all his qualities and honest endevour.

Of course the big problem is could Everton find a striker to replace Calvert-Lewin who would be any sort of substantial improvement in that department?

That is a big question and I remember the fiasco on deadline day in January 2023 - just after Dyche had replaced Frank Lampard - when the club seemingly tried to sign nearly any forward theoretically available and failed to get one through the door.

Everton could not face a repeat of that day this time round and end up having to rely for goals on Beto, huge flop Neal Maupay (if he is still at the club) and the currently injured young Yousef Chermiti.

Other strikers have been rumoured to be of interest to the Blues in particular Amando Broja and Eddie Njetiah. If Calvert-Lewin exits Goodison Park maybe one of these two will come in and replace him.