Your evening Everton headlines on Thursday, April 8.
Everton furious over Dominic Calvert-Lewin speculation before Burnley clash
Everton’s hierarchy was left furious at speculation over Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s future ahead of the crucial tie with Burnley.
A national magazine reported rumours he was close to a deal with Arsenal in an interview with the striker. The suggestion, published amid preparations for Everton’s crucial tie with Burnley, sparked anger among club officials, the ECHO understands.
Calvert-Lewin was the subject of a feature with the magazine GQ in which he discussed his Sheffield upbringing and Everton career alongside his approach to fashion. The 25-year-old, sidelined through injury for much of this season after scoring in each of Everton’s first three league games, also spoke of his desire to win trophies.
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In the wake of Everton’s recent FA Cup defeat at Crystal Palace, he told GQ : “I am a competitor and I don’t like losing… We have a great group of lads but recently, especially at Palace, the morale was poor I think due to the fact that we had let the manager, the fans and the club down.”
Joe Thomas has the full story, here.
Neville Southall tells Everton players how they can survive relegation
Neville Southall today advised Everton’s struggling stars: “Just be a Scouser and we will be fine.”
The Blues hero said it was important for the club to be positive and look ahead to the remaining nine games rather than at previous results. Confident Frank Lampard's squad has enough ability to stay up, he told the players they needed to display the ‘passion and desire’ shown by the supporters.
Southall also said he believed Jordan Pickford, handed the captain's armband in the defeat at Burnley on Wednesday, was the subject of a "witch hunt", and backed Dominic Calvert-Lewin to find form, before concluding the team needed to be more resilient because “at the moment we are a very nice bunch of players who are too easy to get beat”.
Speaking on Sky Sports News after Everton’s loss to Burnley, Southall expressed frustration at the manner of it. He said: “I think the overall performance wasn’t too bad. We just made silly mistakes. And in the position we are in now, mistakes cost us. If you score two goals away from home you expect to win the game.”
To read the full story, click here.
