Transfer

James Tarkowski: Burnley reject West Ham bid worth £30m for defender

Leicester also monitoring Tarkowski and have had long-standing interest in defender

Tuesday 8 September 2020 15:19, UK

West Ham have had a bid for James Tarkowski worth up to £30m turned down by Burnley.

The Hammers have offered Burnley £20m plus £10m in add-ons or £23m up front to sign the 27-year-old defender, who played every minute in the Premier League for the Clarets last season, keeping 15 clean sheets.

Leicester are monitoring the situation and were strongly linked with a move for the player in January, but the Turf Moor club are under no pressure to sell one of their most-prized assets.

Tarkowski has spent the last four years as a key member of Sean Dyche's Burnley squad and has forged a formidable partnership with Ben Mee since joining from Brentford in a £3.6m move.

West Ham last week completed the sale of Grady Diangana to West Brom in a deal worth up to £18m and manager David Moyes is keen to use the funds on a new centre-back.

"The money received for Grady will be reinvested entirely in the team, in line with the manager's targets," read a club statement.

Diangana's departure from the London Stadium has not gone down well with his former team-mates, with captain Mark Noble tweeting: "As captain of this football club I'm gutted, angry and sad that Grady has left, great kid with a great future!!!!!"

Tarkowski has made 143 appearances for the Clarets and has earned two caps as an England international, having made his debut against Italy in 2018.

Meanwhile, fellow centre-back Ben Gibson is relieved his Turf Moor stay is over after joining Norwich on a season-long loan.

Gibson's £15.2m move from Middlesbrough in 2018 made him become the Clarets' joint-record signing but the 27-year-old was unable to force his way into Dyche's plans, growing frustrated at his lack of opportunities.

"It's been a really, really tough two years, I won't hide from that," said Gibson. "I'm someone that wears my heart on my sleeve and not someone who sits comfortable and is happy to sit on the bench."

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