Prospect Scouting: Dominic Calvert-Lewin
Okay, we’re going to look at the man of the moment - Dominic Calvert-Lewin. The Everton striker has turned the entire football worlds’ attention onto his awesome scoring run.
Today, we’re going to look at DCL and see if the hype is read or not.
Player Profile
Name: Dominic Calvert-Lewin
Age: 23 (Born 1997)
Position: Striker
Club: Everton
Rookie Year: 16/17 Season - Rookie Cards in 17/18
What’s The Deal With Dominic Calvert-Lewin?
Like I said at the top, Dominic Calvert-Lewin is all the rage in the 20/21 season. He has scored in every Premier League match so far this season, and scored in his senior England debut recently.
I was secretly pretty confident that he’d have a good season this year after the signings that Everton made this off-season, but I 100% didn’t expect him, and Everton for that matter, to start this well.
Calvert-Lewin has turned himself into a classic number nine. For a while, he was the workhorse striker who worked the channels and made a lot of sacrifices for the team.
Which is a nice way of saying that he was a striker that didn’t score…
These days though, he’s completely changed some massive aspects of his game, and is getting used differently around the pitch. Just check out his heat map from this season (I know it’s only a small sample size).
As you can see, the center of the attacking penalty box is where he does most of his damage. Let’s compare that to last season’s heat map.
As you can see, last season he was doing a lot more work dropping deep. Now, let’s go a few steps back and look at him during the 17/18 season.
Pretty massive difference, isn’t there? The penalty box is maybe DCL’s third most important spot on the pitch.
DCL’s change in positioning has paid off too, equal first in goals and doing well in expected goals (xg) too.
However it is important to know that a lot of top goal scorers this season have been scoring penalties too (which greatly impacts their xg). The guys in the red box are penalty takers, so their numbers are skewed a little.
But, why is DCL scoring so much? It isn’t just that he is in the box more…
For starters, his Everton side are a lot better than they have been in previous years. Carlo Ancelotti is a great manager despite the shit he seems to get from some. He also brought in some great players for this season, which means Calvert-Lewin can afford to spend more energy timing his runs.
As you can see, that’s paying off well when you consider where his shots are coming from.
As you can see by his shot map, a lot of his career chances are coming from excellent positions xg-wise, which lines up with his xg ratings we mentioned above.
Along with that, check out these conversion rates. To be consistently converting at 21% is pretty special, especially when you consider his conversions after set pieces and after crosses.
To be going at 30% off crosses (a traditionally poor chance xg-wise) is insane.
Displayed differently, you can see just how clinical Calvert-Lewin is.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s Heading
DCL’s top skill (in my opinion), his heading. It’s a classic number nine move, and he is incredibly dangerous from crosses and set pieces.
In fact, already two of Calvert-Lewin’s goals this season have been from corners.
He has pretty great mechanics of heading too:
He’s big and strong (especially for someone still getting stronger)
A solid leaper
Great technique
His ability to time runs means that he’s meeting the ball with his run, and not waiting for it to come to him
The last point there is probably the most important. By timing your run perfectly, you can make sure you’re meeting the ball at the right time and getting more control and power (as your momentum gives extra force to the header)
More Than Just Headers Though…
It’s more than just being able to head the ball though. Calvert-Lewin isn’t an Andy Carrol 2.0.
His run timing is great which puts him in areas to get quick shots on goal, and this season he’s looking like getting more and more one-touch finishes under his belt.
Working With Great Coaches
Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s performances are largely due to the coaching he’s had in my opinion.
Everton interim manager, and current assistant, Duncan Ferguson knew a thing or two about timing a run and scoring with his head - and the two have been known to put in sessions after training.
Along with that, Carlo Ancelotti has managed a lot of great strikers in his time, and has likened the work-rate and finishing ability like Pippo Inzaghi, the great AC Milan striker of the 00s.
And DCL has been taking notice too, with this recent quote.
"Funnily enough, he mentioned it to me before he came out and said it in the press. I had a little YouTube of his goals and I watched a 15-minute reel of him. A lot of his goals are one-touch finishes and he has got great movement.
"You can always learn off him, I am still learning now. I am learning my craft. [Carlo] has had a positive influence on me. At the age I am getting to now, I am evolving and learning my craft.
"I am fine-tuning certain aspects of my game. Beforehand, I was guilty of doing a lot of my best work away from the goal. But now I am getting in between the sticks and putting the ball in the back of the net.
"That analogy from Carlo was more of an emphasis on being in the right place at the right time, not to say I am a carbon copy of Pippo Inzaghi but there are elements of his game that I have been showing in my game and they are one-touch finishes and being in the right areas to put the ball in the back of the net."
If he wants to continue to improve his game, he seemingly has the right team around him to do so.
What’s Next For Dominic Calvert-Lewin?
Well, DCL has already started the year on absolute fire.
The short-term goal has to be to continue his hot streak for as long as possible and to continue to do the right things.
He’s made his senior England debut against Wales and scored - you guessed it, with his head. While it definitely wasn’t England’s best 11 playing, it’s still encouraging to see him in the national team setup.
If he can continue to play well, then there’s no doubt that he could easily make the Euro squad next year. In fact, I’d say that he would more than likely make the squad if it was picked right now.
Another encouraging aspect is that Harry Kane (England’s best striker) has been dropping deep a little and playing balls into teammates this season, so maybe the door is slightly ajar to have them play together. But I wouldn’t bet on that just yet.
However, England are about to play another national team game in the next few days, so it’ll be interesting to see how they line up.
Regardless, that second striker spot behind Kane is DCL’s to lose right now. And with Harry Kane’s body older than his 27 years, who knows how he’ll be managed through the national team.
Either way, Dominic Calvert-Lewin needs to keep playing well for Everton this season and if he can end up with a 20 to 25-goal season it’ll be awesome for him.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin For Card Collectors
There are really two DCL rookie cards worth checking out.
Topps Premier Gold 2017-18
2017-18 Topps Premier League Platinum
*I’ve sometimes seen the PL Gold card listed as a 2016, but from all checklists I’ve seen it’s a part of the 2017 set.
Both are from Topps, who had the Premier League at the time, and as DCL wasn’t a hot prospect combined with the smaller soccer market at the time, there aren’t too many different parallels of the cards to look into.
However, for the platinum, there is:
Green (#/100)
Purple (#/50)
Orange (#/25)
Red (#/10)
Holographic Foil (1/1)
I think DCL is set up to be England’s next starting striker depending on what happens with Harry Kane.
Kane is pretty injury-prone and not what he used to be physically, so I wouldn’t be super shocked if he was one to retire from the national team early.
Regardless, DCL is a top striker prospect at the moment, and if he can continue to perform like he has been it’ll only get better and better.