Dominic Calvert-Lewin on Everton signing a new striker and changes made to solve injury issues

Dominic Calvert-Lewin has detailed the changes that both he and Everton manager Sean Dyche have made in a bid to fully remedy his injury problems.

The striker has endured two frustrating seasons, making a total of just 36 appearances and scoring seven goals. The absence of Calvert-Lewin last campaign was particularly felt given that Richarlison had been sold to Tottenham Hotspur for £50 million. Neal Maupay, who was signed from Brighton, netted on a solitary occasion as Everton narrowly avoided Premier League relegation with a fina-day win against Bournemouth.

Before Dyche succeeded Frank Lampard in the Goodison Park hot seat at the end of January, Calvert-Lewin had played 12 times. He then sustained a hamstring injury in Dyche’s opening fixture - a 1-0 victory over Arsenal.

The former Burnley supremo opted for patience when it came to the 26-year-old’s fitness return, as well as conducting a full audit into facets of his lifestyle including the car he drives and the mattress he sleeps on. Rather than rushing him back, there has instead been an emphasis on rectifying his issues once and for all.

Calvert-Lewin took it upon himself to visit a neuro-training facility in Germany during the summer, while he has slowly been building up his workload in pre-season. Last Saturday’s 1-0 friendly triumph over Sporting CP, in which he scored the only goal from the penalty spot, was just his second outing of the pre-season schedule.

And Calvert-Lewin, speaking candidly to reporters after the Sporting triumph, lifted the lid what’s been different.

He said: “Firstly the gaffer has been great with me since he came in, his patience and he has kind of deflected all the attention that has always been put on me over the last two years: ‘When’s he back, when’s he back, when’s be back?’ he came in and straight away took that load and took it off me.

“It is always hard when you are chasing your tail mid-season, the world doesn’t stop spinning for nobody so you try and get fit and try and do everything you can to be back as fast as possible and it was almost like a factory reset. The season finished and it was like what can we do differently? What is going wrong?

“A lot of the time I take responsibility myself because I have been so eager to be back and it has been a vicious cycle of rushing back, the expectation on me to be back, and not being allowed that time previously to be 100% fit so the manager has come in and kind of said: ‘Listen, you are not coming back until you are fit-fit’.

“Unfortunately, something went wrong at the end of the season but that is what happens sometimes when you have had so long out. When I come back, I am not a passenger, I have a job to do and role to play at the top of pitch and lead the line so I cannot play 80% fit I have to give my all each time I play and sometimes if you are not in the right physical state sometimes it can break I guess. This pre-season was about improving general strength, general mobility whilst I was in Germany some advanced stuff, neuro training stuff which sounds crazy but is not that crazy when you know what you are doing.

“A general approach of a lot of different things but mainly mobility and a lot of yoga and things like that just to strengthen the joints and not so much emphasis on strength, strength, strength that I need to be strong. I am already strong.

“Yoga is definitely in my daily routine now. I guess that is different to before when there was more of an emphasis on being in the gym and getting strong and that correlates with being fit. I had to take a different approach because I had gone down that route. That is not to say I don’t do anything in the gym now, I do but it is more body weight stuff, more core, stability, so, yes, it can get a bit technical but that is just an idea of it.”

Everton are aiming to recruit a new striker in the current transfer window to ease the burden on Calvert-Lewin. Sporting’s Youssef Chermiti is closing in on a move to Merseyside, with a medical reportedly booked in.

Calvert-Lewin accepted that someone of a similar ilk to provide cover may help him - but his aim is to still play every game possible for the Blues. He said: “I guess so, for me, my aim is to be playing 90 minutes every week consistently. That doesn’t change so I don’t pay too much attention to that. I am well aware of my responsibility and the role I play at this football club, how important I am when I am playing. Sometimes that has fed into at times me rushing back and being a bit naive and immature but I am 26 now.

“Maybe I’m not that old in the grand scheme of life but as a football player I am classed as a senior player. I know my body a lot more and I know what works for my body and the main priority for me is performing consistently for 90 minutes each week.”

Calvert-Lewin established himself as a leading Premier League striker in the 2020-21 season. He scored 21 goals in 39 games under Carlo Ancelotti and forced his way into Gareth Southgate’s England squad.

And when asked how his fitness currently is compared to when he went into that prolific campaign, Calvert-Lewin replied: “Probably pretty similar. You obviously have a mental battle when you are getting injured all the time and you are in and out. When you are on the pitch, you are kind of not fully committing to everything you are doing because you are worried something might go wrong. I feel like I am over that now and in a good frame of mind and a good space to go and attack the season.”