West Ham United journalist Roshane Thomas has been discussing the possibility of the London club making a move for Burnley defender James Tarkowski in the current transfer window.
This comes after Thomas recently made an appearance on The Athletic’s Ornstein & Chapman Podcast where he spoke about the latest news surrounding David Moyes’ side.
After it was recently reported that West Ham have bid £27 million for Tarkowski and are now waiting for an answer from Burnley, this is what Thomas had to say on this potential deal.
He said: “In terms of Tarkowski, obviously as you mentioned, there’s been a second bid worth up to £27 million. He’s a defender that Moyes has tracked since 2013. Angelo Ogbonna and Issa Diop have formed a good defensive partnership, but Tarkowski will certainly be an upgrade.”
The 27-year-old, who is currently valued at £18 million according to Transfermarkt, signed for Burnley back in February 2016 from Brentford for a fee of £3.6 million.
Since then, the defender has made a total of 143 appearances for Sean Dyche’s side in which he has managed to score five goals and provide three assists along the way (per Transfermarkt).
The 2019/20 Premier League season saw Tarkowski in hot form for Burnley, earning himself a season rating of 7.19/10 for his performances in the 38 league games he played last season, making him Burnley’s highest-rated player for the campaign (per WhoScored).
Would James Tarkowski be an upgrade on West Ham's current defenders?
Yes
No
TIF Thoughts…
Looking at how impressive Tarkowski was for Burnley in the Premier League last season, it’s no wonder West Ham are chasing his signature this summer. However, because of this, you would presume that Burnley would be reluctant to sell the Englishman this summer.
With Ogbonna earning a season rating of 6.74/10 and Diop earning a season rating of 6.62/10 in the Premier League last season, this backs up Thomas’ point that Tarkowski would be an upgrade on these two current West Ham defenders.