Agbonlahor issues ‘big’ Dominic Calvert-Lewin claim after confirmed Everton news
Gabby Agbonlahor has insisted Everton need to get Dominic Calvert-Lewin fit and firing on a consistent basis if they want to have a successful second half of the season.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, the ex-Aston Villa and England attacker delivered his verdict after Everton confirmed they had cancelled the contract of the “hopeless” Salomon Rondon.
The club confirmed last week (16 December) that Rondon’s deal – which was due to expire in the summer – had been terminated prematurely.
It leaves Frank Lampard with Calvert-Lewin and Neal Maupay as his only senior strikers as they prepare to resume their Premier League campaign just one point above the relegation zone.
Calvert-Lewin scored just once in four top-flight starts before the break while Maupay had found the net once in 10 appearances.
“The biggest thing for me is not even about Rondon because he was hopeless anyway,” Agbonlahor told Football Insider correspondent Connor Whitley.
“It’s more about Calvert-Lewin’s form, which is huge. He scored a good goal in one of the games before the break with a turn and finish.
“They need to get him back to the Calvert-Lewin that was in the England squad, get him banging in goals and keep him injury free.
“They’ve got Neal Maupay as well so if they can keep Calvert-Lewin injury free they should be OK because Maupay is there in reserve as well.
“I think it’s going to be hard for Everton to find a striker good enough to be worth spending money on and who is going to want to go to Everton, to be honest.
“They went to Australia, hopefully, Frank Lampard’s got them all fit and shaken off any niggles so he can get the best out of them.”
In other news, Everton have agreed a big-money player deal after an offer is accepted.