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James Tarkowski comes with a price tag of £50 million.
3. James Tarkowski
Odds: 12/1
Tarkowski may be a strange one for some Evertonians, his poor performance against the Toffees and Burnley’s overall struggles this season may have clouded a lot of people’s vision when it comes to how good the 28-year old really is.
He’s been an ever-present in Burnley’s steely defence and for around three years before this current season, Tarkowski was one of the most consistent centre-backs in the Premier League and there’s a reason Burnley placed a £50m price-tag on the former Brentford man.
In the previous three seasons, Tarkowski averaged over a 7.10 rating and was one of the most underrated defenders in Europe nevermind just the Premier League. This is down to the modern style of centre-back who can play with the ball at their feet which isn’t really Tarkowski’s style.
Although he can work with the ball at his feet, the Englishman is more of what you’d expect from a Burnley defender, somebody who is rough and ready to dive into tackles and win the ball back.
Tarkowski’s greatest strength is his anticipation, he seems to always know when to put in a sliding tackle or when to stick his foot out, he also wasn’t afraid to clear the ball when things got dangerous, with an average of 6.4 clearances over the past 3 years.
His unwillingness to take unnecessary risks is what made him such a valuable piece to Burnley’s defence, but with the way Burnley are going, I could see Tarkowski leaving this sinking ship in January or the next summer transfer window.
I don’t think Everton really need Tarkowski, they have solid centre-back options with Michael Keane, Yerry Mina, Mason Holgate and the rapidly emerging Ben Godfrey who are all currently challenging for spots in the first team.
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Along with young prospects like Jarrad Branthwaite and Lewis Gibson, I don’t think it would be worth Everton spending £20-£30 million on a 28-year old centre-back when the club have younger options with higher potential than Tarkowski.