Everton are scouting the market for a central defender as the current crop of centre backs have been unreliable with hot and cold phases, especially Yerry Mina and Michael Keane. In order to strengthen the defence, the names of James Tarkowski and Kim Min-jae have been mentioned as possible targets.
Everton are said to be a strong contender to land Tarkowski. Burnley’s relegation has made it almost inevitable that the 29 year old will leave the club as his deal runs out this summer. In fact, a report suggested that a number of clubs are keen to sign Tarkowski, and Everton had already offered a £90,000 per week deal to Tarkowski who would arrive on a free transfer.
Aston Villa were also one of the clubs tracking the Englishman and reportedly even offered a bumper deal worth £120,000 per week to lure the 29 year old to Villa Park, double what he earns at Burnley.
Frank Lampard wants to build a robust squad and signing a reliable and strong defender should be high on his priority list. Mina’s exit talk surfaces every now and then and the Toffees are willing to offload Keane.
Everton emerge as favourites for James Tarkowski
In the Tarkowski race, it felt that Everton would have to up the ante or match Villa’s offer, in order to stand a chance to sign the Burnley defender. However, it appears that the Merseysiders have now become the new favourites to sign Tarkowski.
According to Birmingham Live, Tarkowski’s transfer to Aston Villa now seems unlikely after their announcement of Diego Carlos from Sevilla. The Brazilian centre back arrives at Villa Park for a fee of £26 million which means Steven Gerrard’s side are no longer in the market for a centre back.
Villa signing Carlos now puts Everton in the driving seat to sign the defender on a free transfer. However, Lampard is still expected to face competition from other sides for Tarkowski’s signature. So, if Everton is serious about the 29 year old, they’ll have to move fast in the transfer window.
The Burnley defender is exactly what Everton are in need of in the central defence. Tarkowski is miles ahead of Mina in terms of match fitness. In the last four seasons, Tarkowski has featured in at least 35 of the 38 Premier League games each season. In comparison, Mina has just played 13, 24, 29 and 13 Premier League games in the last four seasons respectively.
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He’s one of the most dominating defenders in the air, making him an asset in the defence and a powerful threat in the attack from set pieces. He wins 4.95 aerial duels per 90 minutes and has won the second highest aerial duels in the league this season.
His passing stats are undermined by the fact that Burnley setup in a compact formation, mostly soaking up the pressure but he does have decent on the ball qualities. The Toffees signing Tarkowski is a no brainer. Perhaps the £90,000 per week offer does raise some eyebrows but when factored in that Everton will pay nothing to Burnley, this doesn’t seem to be an expensive operation.
Will the Royal Blues manage to sign James Tarkowski?