The Gunners are eyeing a summer move for Everton star Dominic Calvert-Lewin, reports The Times. The young Englishman could potentially end up replacing Alexandre Lacazette, who is reportedly set to leave at the end of the season.
The North London club want to add the budding English striker to their core of domestic talent which includes players who arrived last summer, such as Ben White and Aaron Ramsdale, and academy graduates, like Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith-Rowe.
Calvert-Lewin has been a consistent goal-scoring threat for the Toffees over the last two full seasons; the 24-year-old scored 15 and 21 goals in 2019/20 and 2020/21, respectively.
Unsurprisingly, the youngster was also a part of Gareth Southgate’s 26-man squad for the Euro 2020, during which he served as an understudy to Harry Kane. Calvert-Lewin started the current season in fine form – with three goals in three league games – but he has been out with an injury since mid-September.
Poaching him away from Everton won’t be easy, however. The striker signed a new five-year deal with the Toffees in March 2020 and has been one of their key players over the last couple of years. Nonetheless, the Merseysiders’ continued financial distress could force them into a sale; their total outlay in the summer transfer window was a meagre 1.7 million.
Meanwhile, Calvert-Lewin could end up replacing Alexandre Lacazette at Arsenal. The 30-year-old striker is approaching the end of his contract and is not expected to renew his deal.
As such, he will be eligible to open formal talks with interested clubs from January 1, 2022, and sign for them for free from July 1.
Lacazette joined Arsenal in 2017 from Lyon in a deal worth 53 million euros plus 7 million in bonuses. In the five years since, he has made nearly 200 appearances across all competitions for the Gunners and scored 68 goals. He was named the club’s Player of the Season 2018/19 by the supporters.
