West Ham’s main summer target James Tarkowski has revealed in an interview with The Telegraph that he is unlikely to sign a new contract with Burnley.
The 27-year-old was subject to three bids from the Hammers over the summer, all of which were rejected by the Lancashire club. However, Tarkowski – who has 18 months remaining on his contract – doesn’t foresee a prolonged stay at Turf Moor.
The defender said: “We’ve had two transfer windows now where the club have decided, for whatever reason, that whatever has been offered on the table hasn’t been enough and that’s fine because I signed a contract for four-and-a-half years.”
With six appearances this season, the defender remains an integral part of Sean Dyche’s plans at Burnley, but he affirmed: “I won’t whinge or not turn up, I just need to deal with it and get on with my football. But the longer my contract runs down, I feel I gain the control of my career more than Burnley having the control of it, which is what I feel like I need right now.”
Tarkowski signed for Burnley from Brentford in 2016 for a mere £3.6m and is now valued at £25m by Transfermarkt.
Despite continuing to serve the club, the Manchester-born centre-half admitted it may only be for the short term, saying: “There is nothing I have heard or has been put to me that makes me think there is a scenario in which I would sign a new contract at Burnley. That can change, but currently, that is the situation.”
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Moyes spent much of the summer scrambling around attempting to bring in defensive reinforcements. After seeing a host of bids for Tarkowski rebuffed by Burnley, advances elsewhere also ended in disappointment before the Hammers finally landed Craig Dawson on a season-long loan deal from Watford.
This is a potentially huge development for Tarkowski, as well as West Ham possible. Dawson is yet to make his debut for the club and he could well only be a short-term solution.
Either way, it’s unlikely Burnley would stand in Tarkowski’s way much longer, as the longer the player refuses to sign an extension, the closer they come to losing their asset on a free – a decision which would make little sense given the player’s worth.
