Everton striker Dominic Calvert Lewin is expected to step up his training with the first team this week and stake a claim for a return to action against Ipswich Town on Saturday.
The 28-year old is out of contract this summer and has still to determine his next career move, with the prospect of staying at Everton not completely ruled out.
Everton manager David Moyes is looking for a new centre forward for next season and has expressed interest in Liam Delap of Saturday’s opponents Ipswich but will face fierce competition on that front with Manchester United, Chelsea and Newcastle all pushing to sign him.
Calvert-Lewin had a reasonable start under Moyes and was showing some good form but suffered a hamstring injury against Brighton at the end of January and there were concerns he wouldn’t play for the club again.
In his absence, Moyes has managed to get goals out of Beto and has been able to reintegrate Chelsea loanee Armando Broja up top though with little success.
Calvert-Lewin will now hope to impress his manager sufficiently this week to get another chance to appear at Goodison Park before Everton run out of games.
Everton star Dominic Calvert-Lewin has sidelined for three months with a hamstring injury
Everton boss David Moyes wants to bring in a new striker and is a fan of Ipswich’s Liam Delap
Calvert-Lewin fires in against Tottenham in January, one of just three goals this season
The England international has scored three goals in 22 games this season and will be hoping to finish with a flourish to put himself in a better bargaining position for the coming weeks.
Everton are holding initial talks over the coming days with representatives of players they would like to retain now that their Premier League status is confirmed. The number of out of contract players gives Moyes an opportunity to rebuild but he is wary of a complete overhaul knowing the squad will need a degree of continuity and Premier League know-how.
However, he is keen to bring the age of the squad down and acquire more robust players who can withstand the pressing game he wants to adopt.
As a potential free agent, Calvert-Lewin has drawn interest from Newcastle, AC Milan, Chelsea, West Ham and Tottenham but the concern has been his ability to remain fit.
