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Keep Calvert-Lewin as 'squad player' on a 'reduced wage'

Keep Calvert-Lewin as 'squad player' on a 'reduced wage'

BBC Newsa day ago

We asked for your questions for BBC Sport pundit Nedum Onuoha on your Premier League club.Chris asked whether Everton should keep Dominic Calvert-Lewin on the expiry of his contract this summer.Realistically, you have got to say this next season is going to be huge for Dominic Calvert-Lewin personally.People have seen his talents but the goalscoring record that got him in and around the England squad is becoming longer and longer ago.He needs to find a stretch where he is healthy, fit and available because you want to be able to rely on a striker and Everton have not been able to rely on Calvert-Lewin for a long time now.To have a potential England international in the squad is brilliant - but only if they are available. The club will need to have a serious look at what they can do to first keep him healthy, but then secondly to keep him sharp. This comes from competition in the squad.He is worth keeping for now because is there cover if Everton decide to let him go? Do they have someone who can fill those boots straight away?Beto has done well in parts and been trusted in the back half of the season. I do not think Calvert-Lewin himself, or anyone at Everton, really expects him to be a guaranteed starter going forward. Unfortunately for him, he just has not played enough football in the past few seasons.If the club can find a way to offer him a new deal - on a reduced wage and perhaps appearance-based clauses - then I would keep him as a squad player.Any new contract would need to reflect his lack of football. He is just not going to get any deal on the same terms as when he was pushing to play for England, and if the player does not accept that or wants a fresh start then he should go.Hopefully for Calvert-Lewin, he can work his way back to being a regular starter and regular goalscorer soon.Nedum Onuoha was speaking to BBC Sport's Nat Hayward

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