‘No chance’: Paul Merson tips 26-year-old Everton player to save Everton from relegation

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Paul Merson has tipped Everton to finish far from relegation this season.

Speaking to sportskeeda, the pundit claimed that the Toffees will be nowhere near the Premier League’s bottom three if they can keep Dominic Calvert-Lewin fit.

Calvert-Lewin was previously living his best life after scoring 29 goals across two seasons for Everton, earning his England call-up and being heavily linked with some of Europe’s biggest clubs.

However, the striker’s career went downhill when he started suffering with a flurry of injury problems and has since been sidelined for over 300 days in total.

Calvert-Lewin looked to be making his dramatic comeback this season when he made his first start against Aston Villa, however it wasn’t long before he was forced off with a facial injury after colliding with Emiliano Martinez.

The attacker’s second attempt at a return has been much more successful though, coming off to score Everton’s third against Brentford at the weekend before netting again as the Toffees beat Aston Villa in the Carabao Cup.

While making his predictions for the next Premier League round of fixtures, Merson was full of optimism for Everton and suggested that Calvert-Lewin could really be the difference for the club this season.

“How quickly does football change, eh?” He said. “Everton struggled to do anything meaningful in the opening weeks of the new season, but they beat Brentford in the Premier League last weekend and topped it off with an impressive win away from home against Aston Villa in the Carabao Cup.

“They have Bournemouth coming up after Luton, so Sean Dyche and co have a big chance to rack up some points on the board with a run of wins. They need to kick on and I think they’ll do just that, so I’m going for a 3-0 Everton win.

“If Everton keep Dominic Calvert-Lewin fit and firing, there’s absolutely no chance they will be in and around the relegation zone.”

Should Calvert-Lewin start against Luton Town?

Sean Dyche certainly won’t want to rush Dominic Calvert-Lewin back into playing so much football over the course of the week, but he will definitely be tempted to start him against Luton Town.

Their home clash against the Hatters could be a real confidence booster for a number of players if they can get some goals and assists and Calvert-Lewin will be chomping at the bit to get his opportunity.

However, it could also be the perfect chance for Beto to get off the mark in the top flight. The forward has put on some impressive performances since joining from Udinese but has only managed to put the ball in the back of the net against Doncaster Rovers.

Dyche has a big decision on his hands on who to play against Luton, but it is certainly beneficial to the club to have the two forwards battling it out for their place in the team.