Ancelotti hails 'on fire' Calvert-Lewin ahead of England squad announcement

Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti hailed "on fire" Dominic Calvert-Lewin after the striker scored his second hat-trick in the space of four matches.

Calvert-Lewin made it eight goals from five games this term with his treble in Wednesday's 4-1 EFL Cup last-16 victory over West Ham at Goodison Park.

The 23-year-old opened the scoring in the 11th minute and added two more late on after team-mate Richarlison had cancelled out Robert Snodgrass' equaliser.

Ancelotti suggested Calvert-Lewin is deserving of a first call-up to the England squad when Gareth Southgate names his side on Thursday.

"He's doing a fantastic job in the moment. He's really on fire and scoring a lot of goals," said Ancelotti of Calvert-Lewin, who also bagged a hat-trick against West Brom in the Premier League 11 days ago.

"He's in a very good moment. Whether he's the best [English striker] I don't know, but I don't care. For me, for us, he is."

No hatty no sleep. Let’s keep it going. pic.twitter.com/rGcFYVTcI5

— Dominic Calvert-Lewin (@CalvertLewin14) September 30, 2020

Calvert-Lewin, who has scored more goals than any other Premier League player in all competitions this term, is hopeful that he has done enough to win over England boss Southgate.

"I've said many times before that it's my dream to play for England but I can't control that so I'm taking care of business at the moment to give myself the best chance to make the next step," he said.

"I'm enjoying my football, which is the main thing. You look at the chances being created and they are there for me so it's my job to put them in the back of the net and I'm obviously enjoying being able to do that at the moment."

Former Real Madrid playmaker James Rodriguez set up Richarlison for Everton's second goal and has now created 15 chances in four games since joining the club.

"We've got players who are capable of scoring from different areas of the pitch which is very important," Calvert-Lewin added. "When you've got that, it's a helping hand from everyone on the pitch.

"A lot of my goals have been one-touch finishes so it's about getting in the right areas and being the man to put them in the back of the net."