Dominic Calvert-Lewin given Frank Lampard demand as 'cruel' Everton transfer scenario emerges

Everton’s attack has packed less of a punch than Will Smith at the Oscars of late but as they look for someone to deliver a ‘Hammer blow’, Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s work over the international break comes into sharp focus. With a trip to West Ham United coming up on Sunday, both the player and Blues alike could do with a repeat of last season to set them up for the Premier League run-in.

In May, the striker’s 24th-minute goal gave Everton a 1-0 victory at the London Stadium and although it’s less than a year on, they unfortunately return in rather less robust health than on that occasion. Although both clubs have dropped down the table since that match, the Hammers’ slide from fifth to seventh is far less dramatic and they’re still only six points off a Champions League berth compared to the five after that reversal.

Carlo Ancelotti’s men, in eighth place, were a mere three points behind David Moyes’ side following the win – with a game in hand – but the current Blues crop are currently languishing on the club's lowest-ever points total at this stage of a Premier League season with just 25 points from 27 games, leaving them just one place above the relegation zone.

Of all their players whose year-on-year contributions have slid, the removal of Calvert-Lewin’s goals from the Everton side has been the starkest. His winner at West Ham last term was one of 16 in the Premier League last season and 21 in all competitions including a hat-trick against the same opponents in a Carabao Cup tie.

Despite netting three times in the first three outings of this term, he subsequently spent the next four months on the sidelines with a quadriceps injury and after skying a penalty against Brighton & Hove Albion on his return on January