David Moyes held his first press conference as the new Everton manager today.
The Scot is back at Goodison Park for a second spell and is tasked with turning around the club’s fortunes after a season of struggle under Sean Dyche.
The Friedkin Group parted ways with Dyche last Thursday just hours before the FA Cup game with Peterborough United.
Dyche told The Friedkin Group that he felt he couldn’t take the team any further, and the new owners acted decisively.
Seemingly, the mood has become really low in the final days of the Dyche tenure.
One player who’s struggled a fair bit this season is Dominic Calvert-Lewin – and Moyes today shared what he’s told the striker amid speculation over his future.
Moyes shares what he’s said to Dominic Calvert-Lewin
Everton’s next game is against Aston Villa in the Premier League on Wednesday.
It is going to be a difficult first fixture back for Moyes, with Villa a strong outfit under Unai Emery.
Ideally, Everton would head into this game with a fit-and-firing Calvert-Lewin.
But he’s scored just two goals this season, and there’s been plenty of speculation about his future, with Atalanta among the teams keen to sign Calvert-Lewin.
Speaking today, Moyes suggested he is hopeful Calvert-Lewin will be sticking around, revealing he’s told him he needs him to find his shooting boots.
He said: “I think we all feel he can be the one who can be a big difference. Get his goalscoring boots back on, it’ll be a big help to Evertonians and to the manager as well.
“We’ll give him as much confidence and help him as much as we can and we’ll give him as much pratise as we can.
“But then there’s a little bit where you need the player to stand up and do his bit as well.
“But I’m just in so hopefully we’ll get him working. But I’ve told him I’m needing off him right away and he needs to start delivering.”
Moyes may have dropped hint over Calvert-Lewin’s immediate future
By the sounds of it, Moyes is intending to keep hold of Calvert-Lewin this month.
West Ham and Newcastle United are also keen on Calvert-Lewin, and the player is obviously out of contract in the summer meaning he can talk to clubs about a pre-contract agreement.
But Moyes seemingly wants him to stick around.
Potentially, this answer was to be expected, especially given the uncertainty over Armando Broja with the injury he suffered last week.
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