Everton have David Unsworth to thank for Dominic Calvert-Lewin

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Everton fans do not have the fondest memories of Steve Walsh’s time in charge of recruitment and with good reason. 

The former Leicester City director of football brought 23 players to Goodison Park during his time on Merseyside. 

The likes of Davy Klaassen, Cenk Tosun, Ashley Williams, Morgan Schneiderlin, Theo Walcott and, Sandro Ramirez all struggled to win over the club whilst others, like Nikola Vlasic and Ademola Lookman, were given up on by the club despite talent. 

The likes of Gylfi Sigurdsson, Michael Keane, and Jordan Pickford are still at the club but the jury is, arguably, still out on all three as potential success stories. Idrissa Gana Gueye, now at PSG, was perhaps his biggest hit.

Or was he?

It is perhaps forgotten now that Walsh was in charge of transfers when Dominic Calvert-Lewin arrived in a reported £1.5 million deal from Sheffield United (although that fee has since been disputed). 

So was Calvert-Lewin Walsh’s biggest success story?

Not really. Everton fans will not be surprised that Walsh had very little to do with this deal. As reported by the Liverpool ECHO, it was David Unsworth and former CEO Robert Elstone that drove this deal. 

Unsworth was fond of the player from his time at Bramall Lane and, with an independent transfer budget for the under-23s, DCL was brought in. 

Walsh

So it is perhaps time that Everton fans appreciated the impact Unsworth has now had on the first-team. 

Calvert-Lewin is in fine form for the Toffees under Carlo Ancelotti. The 23-year-old has scored 11 goals in 10 games so far this season and even scored on his England debut last month in a 3-0 win over Wales. As reported by The Sun in the summer, Everton now value their bargain recruit at £80 million.

The striker is now Everton’s main forward threat and could be pointed to as Walsh’s main success as Everton’s previous recruitment chief. 

However, that praise perhaps lies at the door of the current under-23 boss.