Andros Townsend has waxed-lyrical about Everton striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin on ITV’s Football Show Podcast and backed him to thrive on his England debut tonight.
The 23-year-old is in line to play for England as they take on Wales in an international friendly, with Calvert-Lewin going into the game on the back end of a blistering run of form.
From scoring hat-tricks to leaping like Cristiano Ronaldo to score powerful headers, Calvert-Lewin is without a doubt England’s most in-form forward at this moment in time.
Crystal Palace winger, Townsend, came up against Calvert-Lewin last month and he shared that he’s a player who has seriously impressed him.
“Fully deserved [England call-up] and he’s my talk of the Townsend because he’s very unique as a modern-day forward,” Townsend told the ITV Football Podcast.
“He’s more like an old fashioned striker where they don’t care about link-up, they don’t care about how many touches they have, they don’t want to do skills or cross the ball. If you want me to head the ball, I’ll head the ball. If you want me to set it up to you then I’ll set it up.
“But predominantly, I am going to get between the goal, I am going to get into the box, I am going to trust, Rodriguez, Richarlison, Allan to feed me the ball and I am going to finish them. I think he’s finished all his chances and finished them incredibly.
“He has had a great start to the season. He offers something different to what England maybe don’t have – I am sure he will get his England debut coming up and take it with both hands – he has impressed me a lot this season.”
Gareth Southgate has a serious crop of attacking talent to choose from and it will be interesting to see where Calvert-Lewin fits in his pecking order in the long run.
Many will now back Calvert-Lewin to thrive at club level and push for the Premier League’s Golden Boot, but it could result in a top-quality centre-forward staying at home for next summer’s European Championships.
Harry Kane is a shoo-in, but there’s also Marcus Rashford, who can also play out wide, Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham, Calvert-Lewin himself and Southampton’s Danny Ings.
Either way, it’s a selection headache that Southgate should be grateful to have.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
