Over the years, Manchester United and Everton have both had some legendary players represent each club. Historically, they are both two of English football’s biggest football clubs and some of the best players to grace the domestic game, both before and during the Premier League era, have represented them.
No doubt the most famous of them all is Wayne Rooney, who burst onto the scene for Everton in 2002/03, before joining United in 2004/05. He is the Red Devils’ all-time top goalscorer, with 253 goals in 559 games, and also scored 28 times for his boyhood club, in two spells with the Toffees.
Another famous player to grace both Old Trafford and Goodison Park is Mark Hughes. The Welshman played 467 times for United, getting on the scoresheet on 163 occasions. Whilst he only played 18 games for Everton at the end of his career, Hughes still got on the scoresheet for the Toffees once.
Other players to play for both clubs include Ashley Young, Romelu Lukaku and Andrei Kanchelskis. With the transfer window in full swing, there have been rumours recently linking United to another Everton player, who could add his name to a list filled with iconic players.
Man Utd target Everton striker
The player in question here is England striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin. The 27-year-old has impressed for the Toffees when injuries have not troubled him, and with his contract set to expire in 12 months, has been constantly linked with a move away this summer.
Indeed, journalist Joe Thomas, talking to fan-led Everton YouTube channel Royal Blue, "wouldn’t be surprised" if United made an approach for the striker in the final days of the window. He believes that the Red Devils "might put a cheeky bid in" for the striker as the end of the transfer window draws ever closer.
The England international has already been subject to a transfer saga this summer. He came close to moving to the North East and joining Newcastle United. However, the Magpies decided to end their interest in the player because the £40m Everton were charging proved to be too costly.
With that being said, Thomas believes that the centre-forward could now cost clubs far less, given Everton’s need to sell him so they do not lose him for free at the end of next season. The journalist reports United may need to spend just £15m to tempt Everton into a sale this summer.
Why Calvert-Lewin would be a good signing
Sadly for Calvert-Lewin, his 2023/24 campaign was slightly hampered by injuries. The former Sheffield United man missed six games last term in total, although he still played 32 games in the Premier League, getting seven goals and two assists.
Indeed, the striker’s injury record could be cause for concern for Erik ten Hag and United, especially when you consider just how much they struggled with injuries as a squad last season. In the 2021/22 season, the Englishman missed 34 games due to injury, and 29 games the following campaign.
Adding the Sheffield-born striker to their squad would be a good piece of business for the Red Devils should they want to bring in some more Premier League experience, however. United arguably lack such experience up front at the moment, with new signing Joshua Zirkzee 23 years of age and yet to play in the Premier League, and Rasmus Hojlund just 21 with one season of English top-flight football under his belt.
With that being said, the young Denmark international did a good job during his first season wearing that famous red shirt. He played 43 times, scoring 16 goals, which included ten in 30 games in the Premier League and five in six in the Champions League.
Should United bring Calvert-Lewin to Old Trafford this summer, he could prove to be an experienced alternative to Hojlund and Zirkzee, as the former gets his minutes managed better and the latter beds into the Premier League.
How Calvert-Lewin compares to Hojlund
Indeed, despite scoring fewer goals in the top flight in slightly more appearances, Calvert-Lewin’s experience compared to Hojlund is certainly reflected in his stats from last campaign, according to FBref.
Firstly, Everton’s number nine registered far more expected goals than the Dane. He had 12.9xG across the whole season and averaged 0.54xG per game. In contrast, Hojlund posted 7.6xG throughout the season and just 0.32xG each game.
Expected Goals (xG) is a metric designed to measure the probability of a shot resulting in a goal.
Calvert-Lewin is arguably better suited to fashion goals from dire scenarios than the ex-Atalanta star. He averaged 0.25 goal-creating actions per game, with Hojlund averaging slightly less, at just 0.17 shot-creating actions.
Shot-creating actions are pieces of play that lead to a shot. These include moments such as a pass, take-on or foul being drawn.
Stat
Calvert-Lewin
Hojlund
Goals
7
10
xG
12.9
7.6
xG per game
0.54
0.32
Shots on target per game
1.16
0.83
Shot creating actions per game
0.25
0.17
If there is one area that the 27-year-old England international excels in, it is contesting aerial duels. He won 5.68 aerial duels per 90 minutes last term and had a win rate of 48.8%. This is far superior to Hojlund, who on average won just 1.04 aerial duels each game, a win rate of just 27.8%.
The 21-year-old’s main strength is running the channels rather than being a hold-up striker, which is the way Ten Hag utilised him often last season. In fact, that was also noted by Adam Bate, a football analyst for Sky Sports, who said ‘Hojlund would prefer to be running channels, finding space with his movement, than making it stick’.
Should the Dutchman prefer his side to play that way, adding Calvert-Lewin to their squad would certainly help. He is superb at playing with his back to goal, winning those duels in the air, and controlling the ball on his chest, head or thigh. That is largely thanks to his large 6 foot 2 frame and the impressive height he can reach when jumping. He is a threat in the box from set-pieces, too.
Football talent scout Jacek Kulig described the Everton striker as a “monster”, and should United bring him in, he could add versatility and experience to a strike force that currently has a lack of experience in the top flight.
For just £15m, signing Calvert-Lewin could be a deal that United shouldn’t miss out on this summer.
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