A busy summer awaits for all involved at Everton.
As reported by Rob Tanner of the Athletic, the Toffees currently have ten senior first-team players out of contract, which is more than any other Premier League club, with Abdoulaye Doucouré just one of the many high-profile players waving goodbye.
So, having played their last-ever match at Goodison last Sunday, ahead of moving into their new ground at Bramley-Moore Dock, David Moyes and his staff will have plenty of work to do to be ready for the big unveiling in August, but could they beat off the competition to land one of the league’s hottest prospects?
Everton's search for a new striker
According to a report by Fabrizio Romano, Everton manager Moyes has already held a face-to-face meeting with Ipswich Town striker Liam Delap, in which they ‘presented their project’.
The reporter claims that the Toffees are prepared to offer an ‘important’ salary to convince the England U21 international to make the move to Merseyside, amid interest from Chelsea and Manchester United.
Also, on Friday, Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna confirmed in his press conference that “Liam’s looking at his options”, stating that the club “have given him permission to do that this week”, adding “of course there is a lot of interest – and rightly so”.
Following the Tractor Boys’ relegation, it’s been widely reported, including by Jacob Steinberg, Nick Ames and Jamie Jackson of the Guardian, that Delap’s contract includes a £30m release clause, with Manchester United and Chelsea amongst those purportedly said to be interested.
However, could the 22-year-old be convinced to move to Merseyside instead?
How Liam Delap would improve Everton
As alluded to earlier, Everton have a whole host of players out of contract in the summer, one of which is Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
Well, according to a report by Pete O’Rourke of Football Insider, no ‘final decision’ has been made just yet, with Andy Hunter of the Guardian claiming the striker ‘has been offered new terms’, but an agreement is yet to be reached.
Irrespective of whether or not he chooses to remain on Merseyside, it is undeniable that Calvert-Lewin’s importance to Everton has massively declined in recent seasons, as the table below outlines.
2019/20
41
2,996
15
Zero
2020/21
39
3,313
21
6
2021/22
18
1,332
5
23
2022/23
18
1,196
2
24
2023/24
38
2,630
8
7
2024/25
25
1,611
3
15
As the table highlights, Calvert-Lewin actually scored more goals during the 2020/21 season than he has in the four subsequent campaigns combined, partially due to the fact that he’s missed a whopping 69 matches due to various injuries during this time frame.
Nine years on from first arriving at the club, for a reported fee of £1.5m from Sheffield United, the 28-year-old is no longer an important figure for the Toffees.
So, let’s assess how his statistics compare to Delap’s this season.
Appearances
25
36
Minutes
1,611
2,596
Goals
3
12
Assists
2
2
Shots on target %
37.5%
44.6%
Shots per 90
2.69
2.27
Big chances missed
14
10
Goals – xG
-3.3
+2.3
Shot-creating actions
25
62
Touches per 90
29
24
Average Sofascore Rating
6.72
6.86
As the table outlines, Delap would represent a clear and massive upgrade on Calvert-Lewin, registering more impressive statistics pretty much across the board.
The most noteworthy statistic is goals – xG, with Delap’s figure of +2.3 meaning he ranks 20th in the Premier League for this metric, while Calvert-Lewin’s -3.3 means he is second-bottom, above only Savinho of Manchester City.
Prior to their meeting in December, Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca, who worked with him at youth level at Man City, described Delap as a “fantastic player” and a “very good striker”, while Kurosh Moghtader of Total Football Analysis praised his ‘physical frame’, intelligent movement and ‘excellent… link-up play’.
Meantime, Pranav Parameshwaran of Breaking the Lines asserts that he could become ‘England’s future striker’, impressed by his ‘ability to occupy defenders’ and general ‘all-round game’.
So, what is clear is that Delap has the potential to become one of the best centre-forwards in the Premier League, so if Everton are able to convince him to sign for them, it would represent a major coup.
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