Dominic Calvert-Lewin makes feelings clear as another Everton free agent finds club

Dominic Calvert-Lewin makes feelings clear as another Everton free agent finds club

Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Abdoulaye Doucoure have announced their new clubs after leaving Everton

Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Abdoulaye Doucoure have each found new clubs. Photo by Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin said he feels “like a kid again” after signing for Leeds United. The forward joined the newly-promoted club on Friday, Elland Road becoming his new home after nine years with Everton.

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Talks between the Blues and the 28-year-old were held at the start of the summer but a deal could not be reached, leading to his departure.

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After weeks of speculation, Calvert-Lewin has now moved down the M62, signing a three-year deal with the Yorkshire club. And upon his arrival at Leeds, he said: “I am really excited.

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he said: “I am really excited. I feel like a kid again that is just starting somewhere new and just can’t wait to play and represent the football club. For me, it is a massive football club with a massive fan base. I have played at Elland Road before and I just remember thinking how loud the fans were and how good the fans were.

“It is something that I really, really wanted to be a part of. I also spoke with the manager prior to this and we had a really good conversation and he was a centre-forward himself.

“So, he was just explaining how the life of a centre forward is and he gave me a feeling of a lot of understanding and it made me really excited to work with him as well. And just the way that the team set up and the way that we set up last season was really attractive for me.”

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Calvert-Lewin left Everton after another injury-hit campaign. He missed much of the second half of the season with a hamstring issue suffered at Brighton in January.

The setback followed a promising start to life after the return of David Moyes with him breaking his goal drought in the 3-2 win over Tottenham Hotspur. It was the Blues' first win of Moyes’ second spell in charge.

The Everton boss said he wished his former player well as he reacted to the move during his press conference ahead of the trip to Leeds on Monday, which Calvert-Lewin could feature in for his new club.

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He said: "I am pleased for Dom, I have had a really good relationship with him. I didn't really get a chance to deeply work with him because of injuries, I only had one or two games with him.

"We just found the financials to be too much at the time and we chose to move on. It might have been the right time for Dom as well and I'm really pleased that he has sorted himself out. He has gone to a really good club."

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Calvert-Lewin, who scored 57 times in the Premier League for the Blues, appeared hopeful the move could offer him a fresh start.

He told his new club’s media team: “I have been in the Premier League a while now so I think people are pretty familiar with my game but I also think there are other aspects to my game that I can bring that I maybe haven’t brought enough of.

“I am looking forward to unlocking that and continuing the things that I am good at but also bringing new aspects and new facets to my game. So I’m looking forward to just seeing Elland Road in full force through a different lens, you know, as a Leeds player.”

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Another former Everton player, Abdoulaye Doucoure, also confirmed he had found a new club on Friday.

The midfielder, who also left this summer, has moved to Saudi Arabia to join Neom SC.

The Blues, meanwhile, confirmed the signing of 16-year-old centre-back Reuben Gokah from Charlton Athletic, and 30-year-old goalkeeper Tom King from Wolves.

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