Arsenal: 5 striker transfer targets eyed to replace Lacazette

5. Dominic Calvert-Lewin – Everton

Age: 24
Rumoured fee: £60m+
Contract expiry: 2025

Some resurfacing has emerged as Dominic Calvert-Lewin was someone linked to Arsenal earlier in the summer window by the Telegraph. Here, via the aforementioned Irwin exclusive, he’s back again.

Someone who thrived in Carlo Ancelotti’s wing-back system with one sprinting striker beside him, the Yorkshireman has made himself an England regular with his impressive scoring rates and continued improvements now attracting even more admiring glances.

If this is being framed as a hunt for a Lacazette replacement then the need for someone who can play with his back to goal becomes clear: Calvert-Lewin can do that. Very well, in fact. He is a bully in central areas and has the capacity to dominate defenders aerially and physically, all with the benefit of well-timed runs into the box instead of hanging around in the No. 10 zone and leaving the 18-yard area vacated.

Superb in the air and looking sharper with the ball at his feet, it’s clear the 24-year-old is heading on a trajectory that is going only one direction. Every facet of his game is improving, even if he still thrives on being a very low-touch striker who is always in the right place at the right time.

Crikey, it’d be nice to have someone to aim for at goal kicks who can win the ball with some comfort and deliberately direct into a winnable second ball, wouldn’t it?

Are there areas of concern? The price stands out. He’d cost a fortune. But, he’s quick enough, growing in technical quality, homegrown and is Premier League experienced. While he was his manager, Ancelotti said he has the capacity to be one of ‘the best strikers in England and in Europe’. He knows a thing or two.

Given this interest has come from a few different outlets in recent months, there may well be some legs to it.