'Different regime' - David Moyes drops Everton bombshell over Dominic Calvert-Lewin contract 'on the table'
Dominic Calvert-Lewin sees his current Everton contract expire at the end of the season.
David Moyes has provided an update on Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s future at Everton.
The striker sees his current contract expire at the end of the season. Calvert-Lewin has spent the past nine years with the Toffees and helped in the successful battles against Premier League relegation in recent seasons.
Everton have previously been in talks with Calvert-Lewin over extending his stay. The 11-cap England international has recently hinted that he would be open to penning fresh terms with David Moyes returning as manager and the club moving to their new state-of-the-art stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock next season.
Calvert-Lewin had a contract on the table to extend his stay but Moyes has revealed that is no longer the case since he returned as manager. But the Blues boss did suggest he’d like Calvert-Lewin - set to return to the squad for tomorrow’’s clash against Ipswich Town after a serious hamstring injury - to commit his future.
Speaking at his pre-match press conference, Moyes said: “I think the way the teams are playing, the goals we are scoring, the chances we are making will give Dom a lot of hope. We wants to try to work his way back to the top again.By doing that, he needs to score goals and assists He is part of that group of players coming out of contract who we'll discuss with and see how things do in the coming weeks.
“All I can say is there has not been a contract offer on the table since I got here. The contract offer was here under a different regime. We want everyone to fight for what they're doing and to show their worth. There is a lot, we are taking a bit of time to look at it. We've not had loads of time since January, but had some time. Unfortunately, Dom has been injured but his history has been good.”
On Calvert-Lewin’s fitness, Moyes added: “I'm hoping to have Dom around it. He has training this week. In truth, it would be too quick to put him back in, even minutes is a little bit worrying but I want to get him back involved, we only have a few weeks to go. I've tried to do it with a lot of the players who've come back quite quickly, even if I sat them on the bench.”
Calvert-Lewin has endured injury issues in the past at Everton. He was dogged with issues throughout the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons respectively. Now he is coming back from a hamstring issue that has kept him out for three months.
Moyes has admitted he wants to bring in players he can rely on to be available regularly in the summer transfer window. However, the Scot knows it would be unfair to judge Calvert-Lewin in the final four games of this season.
He added: “I think when we came in we've had 10 injuries, which has really worried me. We can't be bringing in players who are not going to reliable and not going to be available so it's hugely important to the decision-making. Are we getting the value out of the players for the games they play? We need people to be available. There may be other reasons for it but at the moment those players need to show they can make themselves robust. For us to be successful, we need players fit and available.
“It would probably be unfair to put the pressure on him as he's obviously not fit as far as he's not match fit. He has only had three days' training so that would be really unfair to judge him. It's not me who is always judging him, Evertonians are judging him and they will have their own thoughts on how they think he has done over the years. I'll be the one who makes the final decision but Dom is the one who has to show us he can be robust and fit to play. Undoubtedly he has qualities other strikers don't have and he has to show us when he gets those opportunities he has to take them. The first game for me he got me a goal against Tottenham and it probably made him feel better. I do believe if he had been around the tea he would have got a few more goals.
“It's a nearly-impossible question. We need him to become more robust or we're not getting the value of it We need him to be ready to train, play, be competitive in more games than he has been available for. He is an incredibly conscientious boy in terms of how he treats his body and keeps himself fit, he had worked privately in Germany for the last month or so to keep himself in the right shape so he's got himself back. He will be back among the squad tomorrow but whether he is ready to play any minutes is a big question.”