West Ham United have been dealt a blow in their pursuit of James Tarkowski as Burnley have no intentions of selling him in the January transfer window.
According to a report from Football Insider, Burnley have decided to block James Tarkowski from leaving the club in the upcoming transfer window amid serious interest from West Ham United.
Signed from Brentford in the winter window of 2016, Tarkowski has grown into a mainstay at the heart of the Burnley defence and has played a crucial role in helping them retain their Premier League status over the years. He has made 195 appearances for the Clarets to date, scoring seven goals and chalking up five assists.
Tarkowski has been previously linked with an exit from Turf Moor, but Burnley successfully held on to him. However, the 29-year-old is in the final seven months of his contract with the club, which teams are looking to take advantage of by making a move for him in the January transfer window.
West Ham United, for one, are interested in signing the England international. The Hammers are on the lookout for defensive reinforcements in the winter after having seen key man Angelo Ogbonna get ruled out for the rest of the season due to an ACL injury. As a result, David Moyes & co. are scouring the market for a replacement.
The east London giants have been linked with various central defenders like Niklas Stark and Nikola Milenkovic, among others, with Tarkowski also a target. In fact, reports last week indicated that West Ham were readying a bid of around £7 million for the 29-year-old defender to lure him away from Turf Moor in January.
However, Burnley have decided to put their foot down and not sanction a sale of their key defender, even if it would mean that they will lose him for a free transfer at the end of the season. Tarkowski, for his part, is also believed to have accepted his fate and is ready to see out the rest of the campaign with the Clarets.
On the other hand, West Ham are keeping their options open and have been working on a move for Liverpool centre-back Nathaniel Phillips. It now remains to be seen who Moyes & co. end up bringing in once the January window opens for business.
