James Tarkowski is keen on the idea of working with David Moyes at Premier League giants West Ham United as his Burnley contract runs down, as reported by The Standard.
It almost goes without saying that Sean Dyche’s Burnley would be loath to lose their star centre-back to relegation rivals Newcastle United in the January transfer window.
Selling Tarkowski to side sitting level on points with the Clarets in the Premier League table would feel like leaving your front door wide open and giving the local burglars the passcode to your safe.
Losing the England international to West Ham though would not be quite so bad. Not ideal, of course, but not a disaster either.
Especially with Nathan Collins, a summer recruit from Stoke City, looking every inch Tarkowski’s successor.
West Ham are doing their business at the other end of the table these days, of course. They appear to be challenging for the Champions League after adding Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea to their impressive array of top-flight scalps.
Will West Ham sign Burnley’s James Tarkowski in January?
The London giants are long-term admirers of Tarkowski, labelled a ‘fantastic professional‘ by Dyche recently.
They made a trio of bids during the 2020 summer transfer window but Burnley stood strong, refusing to drop below their £40 million valuation (Sky Sports).
Heading into January, the Lancashire outfit find themselves in a much weaker position.
Tarkowski has made it clear on numerous occasions that he will not extend a contract that runs out in seven months’ time and it is understood that West Ham will test the waters with a cut-price offer in the region of £7 million (The Sun).
Such an offer is likely to be rejected. According to The Standard, Burnley still value Tarkowski in and around £20 million.
The former Brentford stopper is ‘interested’ in the idea of joining West Ham. Not to mention playing under a manager who has Craig Dawson, Issa Diop and Angelo Ogbonna (before his season-ending injury) playing arguably the best football of their Premier League careers.
Moyes saw Kurt Zouma join Ogbonna on the sidelines last weekend too.
He did, however, suggest that Liverpool’s Divock Origi may be a more realistic target.
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