Everton striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin was heavily linked with a move to Chelsea ahead of the deadline this week but ultimately, he stayed at Goodison Park.

The 27-year-old then scored against Brighton on Saturday to put the Toffees 2-0 up, before a calamitous collapse saw them lose 3-2 in the dying seconds.

Calvert-Lewin has less than 12 months remaining on his Everton contract and as we have previously reported, he has ‘refused’ to sign a contract extension until now.

This means that Calvert-Lewin can sign a pre-contract agreement with foreign clubs in January ahead of a free transfer next summer.

Everton have already begun scouring the market for potential replacements for Calvert-Lewin, although they have just signed a new centre-forward.

The Toffees’ completed a late, late season-long loan deal for Chelsea striker Armando Broja, which includes a £30m option to buy in the agreement.

The Albanian international, who has been on the shortlist of Everton sporting director Kevin Thelwell for years, is injured until mid-October and will have to wait until then to prove himself at Goodison Park.

But according to journalist Alan Nixon, Sean Dyche has his eye on another Premier League-proven striker to replace Calvert-Lewin.

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Calvert-Lewin exit seems inevitable for Everton

Nixon claims in a report on Patreon that Dyche has identified Luton Town striker Elijah Adebayo as his ‘top striker target’ for the January transfer window.

He also states that Everton would have made a bid for Adebayo if they’d have sold Calvert-Lewin before the transfer window closed on Friday.

We exclusively revealed Everton’s interest in Adebayo in May and it hasn’t gone away. Luton value the 26-year-old at between £15m and £20m and are open to letting him go for that price.

Adebayo was arguably Luton’s best player in their maiden Premier League season last term, scoring 10 goals in 32 appearances across all competitions.

A number of Premier League clubs are believed to be keeping tabs on Adebayo’s situation – including Crystal Palace – but Everton will be one of those sniffing around come January.

For now, the Toffees will work behind the scenes to tie Calvert-Lewin down to a new contract but everything points towards him rejecting their offers.

Dyche is desperate to keep Calvert-Lewin but it’s fairly clear that he is ready for a new challenge elsewhere, with Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal and Brentford all linked with him.

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Question 1

Everton signed Jordan Pickford for £30m. Was the price they paid for Abdoulaye Doucoure higher or lower?

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Higher

Lower