Newcastle United were heavily linked with signing Dominic Calvert-Lewin from Everton during the summer, but made the decision to avoid him. And it looks like it was the correct call.
The Magpies wanted to sign a striker all summer. It was one of the club’s biggest priorities.
And for a long time, Calvert-Lewin appeared to be Eddie Howe’s number one target. It was reported in May that Newcastle would bid for the Everton ace, and that his agent had already visited St James’ Park.
Calvert-Lewin felt like a good fit for Newcastle. We needed a striker, and he needed a fresh start. However, his asking price proved to be a stumbling block.
According to the Telegraph, the Toffees wanted Newcastle to pay £60million for the 25-year-old. That was and still is a ridiculous fee, and unsurprisingly Dan Ashworth looked elsewhere.
But the fee wasn’t the only problem when it came to Newcastle’s pursuit of Calvert-Lewin. The Daily Mail reported in June that Toon officials had concerns over the England international’s fitness.
Newcastle eventually signed someone else, bringing in Alexander Isak. And it looks like the right decision was made.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s injury woes continue as Newcastle avoid disaster
Calvert-Lewin seriously struggled last season with injury. He only made 17 Premier League appearances, scoring five goals.
And his woes are continuing this time out. He is yet to feature for Everton during the 2022/23 campaign, having suffered a fitness problem in pre-season.
He was due to return last month but suffered a setback. And now he has suffered another setback. The Daily Mail report that he will miss this weekend’s game against Southampton, and could now return against Manchester United on October 8th.
It’s been a disastrous start to the season for Calvert-Lewin, and proof that Newcastle made the right decision. He was already too expensive at £60million, but it would have been fine if he had hit the ground running and scored some goals. People would have quickly forgot about the price tag.
But if he had been signed and suffered these injury problems then serious questions would have been asked about the club’s recruitment.
Instead, Newcastle spent the same amount of money on a better player with more potential in Isak…who is currently injured, funnily enough.
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