James Tarkowski: What could exit-bound Burnley defender do for Aston Villa?
Burnley centre-back James Tarkowski looks set to leave Turf Moor on a free transfer following the Clarets’ relegation, but what could he bring to Aston Villa?
Tarkowski has been an ever-present since joining Burnley in 2016 from Brentford, and would bring steel and experience to any back line he is placed in.
The 29-year-old has been linked with a move to Villa Park this summer with his Burnley contract expiring. According to the Daily Mail on 24 May, a contract has already been offered to him.
He has an immaculate fitness record, averaging 37 league appearances a season in his six seasons at Turf Moor.
He and Ben Mee became cornerstones for Sean Dyche’s battle-hardened side during their six-year Premier League tenure.
To call him defensively solid would be a major understatement.
In the 2021/22 season he won the second most aerial battles, averaging 4.3 headers won per game and made the second most clearances in the league averaging 5.2 clearances a game while averaging 1.2 tackles per game.
The 29-year-old is a different style of centre back, compared to captain Tyrone Mings who is more of a wild and tough-tackling defender.
Tarkowski on the other hand, chooses to only tackle when he needs to when he knows he has a high percentage of winning the duel, totalling an impressive tackle success rate of 70%.
He is adept in playing in deep blocks or high lines and therefore becomes a useful weapon for Steven Gerrard when he decides to sit back and sustain pressure or go on the offensive and press higher up the pitch.
He has also shown signs of becoming a ball-playing centre back with a 70% pass completion rate, while playing for a Burnley side who routinely squandered possession in favour of soaking up pressure and playing on the counterattack.
This a transfer that would help the Villans massively.
With Phillipe Coutinho being signed permanently and Marseille midfielder, Boubacar Kamara moving to Villa Park, strengthening a Villa defence that conceded 54 goals last season, will be high up on Gerrard’s transfer plans, and Tarkowski would be a perfect fit for that.
In other Aston Villa news, Villa are expected to spent £3.5million on signing Robin Olsen.