Everton ready £5m-a-year deal to sign James Tarkowski as Frank Lampard makes demand
Everton are “ready to offer” James Tarkowski almost £5million-a-year in order to join them once his contract at Burnley expires, according to The Mirror.
The newspaper reported via their print edition on Tuesday [24 May, page 48] the 29-year-old centre-back is also wanted by other clubs and his advisors have already been in talks.
It is understood that Aston Villa, West Ham and newly-promoted Fulham are also potential suitors for the two-time England international.
The Mirror adds, though, that Everton have “made the first move” for Tarkowski after Frank Lampard demanded that the club bolsters the squad this summer.
Funds are tight at Goodison Park so it is said that the Blues will “offload at least seven players” who are reaching the end of their deals this summer.
Solid addition
Let’s face it, it’s not going to be difficult for Everton to sniff out defenders who will be able to improve the back-line that Lampard currently has.
Michael Keane, Mason Holgate and Ben Godfrey have all had at least one shocker of a performance this season while Yerry Mina’s fitness issues are a constant drain.
Tarkowski may have just been relegated with Burnley but the Englishman is a sturdy operator at the back and is one who the Blues should be able to rely heavily upon if he joins them this summer.
The Manchester-born defender is just three appearances shy of playing 200 times in the Premier League while he’s also earned two caps for England and shone in one of the most notoriously defensive-minded teams in the country.
It’s also a massive plus that he’s set to become available as a free agent.
While that might mean he’ll demand more money in wages, it means that Everton should at least be able to get around any Financial Fair Play issues in the short term to make the deal happen.
There’ll be a signing-on fee and the aforementioned wages, but overall, this is a clever deal that makes sense both on the pitch and off it.
In other Everton news, Jeff Stelling was interrupted by a Sky Sports pundit who wanted to make a point about Evertonians on Sky Sports News.
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