England face Wales in Thursday friendly before Nations League double-header against Belgium and Denmark, live on Sky Sports
Tuesday 6 October 2020 16:40, UK
Dominic Calvert-Lewin says he cannot wait to work with fellow England striker Harry Kane after the Evertonian was handed his first call-up, and feels there is a lot he can learn from his new team-mate.
Calvert-Lewin has enjoyed a blistering start to the campaign to help the Toffees to the top of the table, scoring nine goals in six games across all competitions, including back-to-back hat-tricks at Goodison Park.
When Carlo Ancelotti took over in December, the 23-year-old immediately went on a run of eight goals in 11 matches prior to the Covid-enforced season break, and has taken his game to a new level in 2020/21 as he sits top of the Premier League goalscorers chart along with Tottenham's Heung-Min Son after Everton's perfect start.
Calvert-Lewin now turns his attentions to England - who face Wales in a Thursday friendly before a Nations League double-header live on Sky Sports against Belgium and Denmark - where he will work with England's No 1 striker Kane, who has registered eight goals and seven assists in eight games for Spurs this season.
"I'm always learning and he has been scoring goals for a long period of time," Calvert-Lewin said of Kane. "He broke into the Premier League and hit the ground running around the same age as me.
"He's got a lot of things to his game I can learn from and I can add that to my game. He is where he is for a reason. He's worked extremely hard, he's got great ability and he scores goals.
"For me as a player coming into the team, it's nice to get up close and personal and see how he operates on a daily basis."
Calvert-Lewin also spoke about Everton's hot start under Ancelotti and revealed his mindset shifted in the summer when the Toffees signed a host of new top players, including James Rodriguez and Allan.
"It's been a great start for the club," he added. "I had a good feeling at the start of the season, I felt ready.
"I had a bit of a blip post-lockdown, but I knew with the players we brought in and the quality that we had in training that we would have a good start.
"Listen, it was a disappointing season last season. The way we've started this season is exactly how we wanted to start. I keep saying the same thing but it's important to not get carried away.
"We're still learning each other's game. We need to take every game as it comes. As a club, the ambition is always to qualify for Europe and finish as high as possible.
"That ambition has not changed, but maybe there has been a momentum shift and a change in mentality - we really believe we can kick on this season."
Meanwhile, the arrival into the England camp of Tammy Abraham, Ben Chilwell and Jadon Sancho has been delayed following reports the trio attended a party in breach of coronavirus restrictions.
It is another headache for manager Gareth Southgate, who had warned his players to be on their best behaviour after Phil Foden and Mason Greenwood were sent home for breaching protocols while on England duty in Iceland last month.
Calvert-Lewin said: "It's a difficult time. The boys have apologised and that's first and foremost what they needed to do but we all understand what it means to play for the country and you have to remember that at all times.
"It's a tough situation but they've apologised so you have to move on.
"We had a welcome meeting [on Monday] and [Southgate] just reminded us what it means and the expectations of playing for England and you have to be extra, extra careful and follow the rules.
"It's a unique moment in time and we always have to be extra attentive to those rules, and that's the way it is when you're representing your country."
