Marcus Rashford has been picked out as England’s best player by international colleague Dominic Calvert-Lewin, with the in-form Everton striker admitting to being a big fan of the Manchester United forward and Bayern Munich star Robert Lewandowski.
Inspiration can be found across Europe for those looking to forge their own successful career in the final third of the field.
Calvert-Lewin falls into that category, with the 23-year-old unlocking the potential in his game that has been apparent for several seasons.
He has become a regular source of goals for his club in the Premier League, with an impressive return of 11 efforts through nine games in 2020-21 earning him a senior England call-up.
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The Toffees star has already found the target for his country and forms part of an exciting attacking unit with the Three Lions that boasts the considerable talent of key men such as Harry Kane, Raheem Sterling and Jadon Sancho.
Asked to make his selection as the cream of England’s crop, Calvert-Lewin told FIFA’s official website: “For me, Marcus Rashford. I’d seen a lot of him and he’s an unbelievable player, but I’d never played with him and he was even better than I thought.
“He’s got everything: pace, power, skill. He’s so sharp, clinical in front of goal. He can finish, he can head.
“As a centre-forward, playing alongside someone like that fills you with the utmost confidence you can beat whoever you play against. I’ve got no doubt he’s going to be a top, top player for many years.”
When spreading the net a little wider, Calvert-Lewin named a prolific presence at Bayern Munich as his pick as the finest player on the planet.
He added: “Robert Lewandowski. He scores so many goals.
“As a young centre-forward, if I’m to look along the line of top centre-forwards, I would look at Robert Lewandowski and study his game and see what positions he gets in, because I feel he’s got similar attributes to what I have.”
Calvert-Lewin’s claims to joining the global elite should be aided by the added quality being brought in alongside him at club level, with Colombian playmaker James Rodriguez one of those to have joined the ranks at Goodison Park.
“It’s only right that a club of Everton’s size, with where we want to go, attract that calibre of player,” said Calvert-Lewin.
“For me personally, I was just really excited because I was aware of what he was capable of. I’d seen the great goals he’d scored and the big teams he’d played for.
“He’s a top, top player and for me, as a centre-forward, I knew chance creation would be there and it would be down to me to put the ball in the back of the net. It has been and I’m really enjoying playing with him.
“He’s a different level. He dictates games. He takes players out of games by taking touches. The way he manipulates the ball, he’s very hard to get it off – I don’t think I’ve seen him get tackled, even in training.”
