England manager Gareth Southgate believes Dominic Calvert-Lewin adding goals to his game has made the complete all-round player.
Calvert-Lewin has shown fantastic progression as a striker ever since the arrival of Carlo Ancelotti at Goodison Park in December 2019.
The Everton forward began the campaign in fantastic fashion, scoring nine times in his side’s opening six games of the season.
That impressive form led to him being awarded his first England senior call-up for the international games played back in October.
And just 26 minutes into his debut for Southgate’s side, the forward headed England ahead against Wales at Wembley.
He was then on target again for the Three Lions against the Republic of Ireland a month later, before scoring twice in Thursday’s 5-0 win of San Marino.
Calvert-Lewin now has four goals from six appearances for his country, and Southgate has praised the 24-year-old for hitting the ground running with England.
“On the field, really, the difference [determining factor in Calvert-Lewin’s selection] has been his goals,” he said ahead of England's World Cup qualifying game in Albania.
“We’ve always seen a player whose link play has been good. Whose work for the team has been outstanding.
“Who presses well. He has a great threat in the air, from crosses, in particular. But until the past 18 months, or so, he wasn’t quite finishing those chances.
“He’s now doing that consistently for his club and he’s hit the ground running with us. Pretty simple, really, that [consistently scoring] has been the difference.”
Calvert-Lewin and Everton team-mate Tom Davies sent social media into a frenzy last year when the two jetted off to New York during a mid-season break.
And while Southgate may not be the biggest fan of the pair's fashion sense, he has nothing but good things to say about the forward.
He said: “I really like his character. He is really engaging and fun to be around.
“I am aware his dress sense can be dodgy but that’s not an issue here, we’re in tracksuits, so no problem with him and Tom Davies with us.”
