Calvert-Lewin could have made Man Utd transfer after heading four-man shortlist
Had things been a little different then Dominic Calvert-Lewin could be lining up for Manchester United on Sunday afternoon.
The Everton forward has returned to the Toffees line-up after several injury issues, and has spearheaded Sean Dyche's attack during their recent impressive form, with Premier League wins registered over Bournemouth, West Ham and Crystal Palace in the last few weeks.
Those victories have been much needed given that they've now been hit with their 10 point penalty for financial breaches, and Calvert-Lewin is sure to be crucial to the attempts to move back up the table after they were plunged into the relegation zone.
They are clearly fans of the England forward's work at United, and in the summer of 2022 he headed a four-man shortlist as the club began to consider who could replace Cristiano Ronaldo, with the Portuguese's influence waning following his much-hyped return.
At the time Ronaldo was one of just two genuine centre-forward options available to interim boss Ralf Rangnick, with the then 37-year-old and the 35-year-old Edinson Cavani playing predominantly through the middle.
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Calvert-Lewin will lead the line against United (David Blunsden/Action Plus/REX/Shutterstock)The Old Trafford hierarchy were expected to target a forward in the summer after missing out on a couple of stars earmarked for the role in earlier years, and Calvert-Lewin's stock was high after he scored 21 goals for the Blues the previous season, earning a spot as Harry's Kane's deputy for England's Euro 2020 squad, with the Three Lions reaching the final in the tournament which was played in 2021.
Kane was also on the list of players that United targeted at the time, but Tottenham stood firm in the wake of any interest, insisting that the England captain wasn't going anywhere.
In a forerunner of his move to Bayern Munich, part of Kane's wish to leave the North London club that summer was driven by his ambition to win trophies, as at that point he still hadn't won a major honour in his career and saw a transfer as his best shot at ending this dry spell.
However, Spurs' appointment of Antonio Conte was believed to be showing their ambition, and Kane opted to stay at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for another year.
Another name on the list was Erling Haaland, who had been linked with United during the days of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer only to join Borussia Dortmund, but in the summer of 2022 it was believed that he was keen on joining Real Madrid.
Another target was Inter Milan's Lautaro Martinez, who was linked with a move to the Premier League for some time only to remain at Inter Milan and spearhead their run to the Champions League final.
And so Calvert-Lewin was seen as the most gettable of the four options, only for a potential move to fail to materialise. Could he make United regret their decision on Sunday.
* An AI tool was used to add an extra layer to the editing process for this story. You can report any errors to [email protected]
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