Dominic Calvert-Lewin wants to earn the right to be Everton’s main striker.
Calvert-Lewin scored twice in the Blues’ 3-1 victory over Chelsea on Saturday after being elected to lead the line by caretaker manager Duncan Ferguson.
The striker requested the iconic no.9 shirt previously worn by the likes of Dixie Dean, Bob Latchford and even Ferguson himself in their Goodison Park careers.
And Calvert-Lewin wants to repay the club’s faith in handing him the legendary number by producing more displays like the one against the Londoners.
He said: “It’s a big number and it comes with big responsibility.
“For me it’s a privilege to wear the no.9 and I want to repay the club for putting the faith in me in giving me this number.
“It does mean a lot. I want to be the no.9 for Everton and lead the line like I have done [on Saturday].
“I’m confident that I’m capable of putting in performances that warrant the no.9 and to top it off with two goals, I’m over the moon really.”
Everton’s hard-fought victory over Frank Lampard’s side came just 72 hours after a chastening Merseyside derby defeat which culminated in Marco Silva’s sacking.
Although Ferguson was unable to enact wholesale changes in the build-up to Chelsea’s visit, Calvert-Lewin believes their directness took the visitors aback.
“I don’t think they could have anticipated the way we were going to set up,” added the 22-year-old.
“It was completely different to what we’ve been doing, but they will have been aware that they were going to get a reaction with what’s gone on in recent days.
“They’ll have known all well that we came out fast and they’ll have been expecting that but I think, to a man, we out-worked them and you can’t ask for any more than that.
“In our one-v-one battle, you kind of come out on top and I think we did that and that’s why we won the game.”