“Rock solid” proclaimed an Everton tweet – complete with a flexing bicep emoji – to greet the signing of James Tarkowski as the Blues reeled off a series of their new boy’s statistics from last season. But this transfer has echoes of another Goodison Park arrival from over two decades ago.
Tarkowski’s rankings among Premier League defenders in 2021/22 showed that he was ranked number one for aerial duels (153), duels won (242) and blocks (58), while also being second for clearances (183) and headed clearances (101). What does that tell us about centre-back? Well he was clearly kept busy with plenty to do in the thick of Burnley’s relegation battle – with Everton of course one of their main rivals in the fight to remain in the top flight, securing their status in their penultimate fixture before the Clarets finally succumbed to the drop on the final day.
But it also shows that Tarkowski, a player who David Moyes tried to take to West Ham United for £30million as recently as September 2020, is a proactive figure at the back, not afraid of ‘getting stuck in’ and as he outlined in his first interview after signing : “First and foremost, I’m a defender. That part of my game is something I’ve really worked on the past few years to become the best defender possible.”
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Such words will surely be music to the years of former Blues defender and ECHO columnist Michael Ball, who laboured the point last season that the team were “too nice”. With Tarkowski’s arrival being confirmed the day after former fans’ favourite Richarlison completed his £60million transfer to Tottenham Hotspur, Evertonians were already re-evaluating the then Burnley man’s robust challenge on the Brazilian at Goodison Park last season.
At the time Gary Neville said on Sky Sports that he thought Tarkowski “goes to leave one on him” but 10 months on, Tony Scott, who compiles matchday videos for the ECHO, fresh from his previous tweet that “Evertonians have lost a cult hero” following Richarlison’s exit, quipped: “Surely we can all agree now that this was a great tackle from Tarkowski!” Such are the fickle fates of footballers and fans.
It’s Tarkowski’s robustness that is attracting him to Everton supporters, manager Frank Lampard, and director of football Kevin Thelwell – who the player revealed tried to sign him when he was a youngster at Oldham Athletic – alike. Not only does he put in a shift when he’s on the pitch, he rarely has a day off either.
During his time at Turf Moor, Tarkowski played over 30 Premier League matches in each of the last five seasons and in 35 or more over the past four. Such durability is in sharp contrast to Yerry Mina, widely considered to be the most-gifted of the centre-backs already at Everton’s disposal but an injury prone player who turned out in just a third of their Premier League games in 2021/22 and who has figured in just 79 out of 152 in the four seasons he’s been at the club.
In many ways, Tarkowski seems something of a throwback to the kind of ‘old school’ defenders who would put their bodies on the line for the royal blue jersey. Phil Jagielka used to do that. But before him there was another centre-back who came to Goodison Park in similar circumstances to the latest recruit who he’d do well to emulate.
In July 2001, Alan Stubbs fulfilled a lifetime’s ambition when the boyhood Blue finally joined Everton, like Tarkowski in his 30th year and on a Bosman-style free transfer. Unlike Lampard’s new boy, he had not played a great amount of football ahead of his dream move as he had only recently returned to fitness after winning his battle with testicular cancer.
Despite already being at an advanced stage of his career, Kirkby-born Stubbs went on to make almost 200 appearances for the club and captained them to their highest-ever Premier League finish of fourth in 2005. Tarkowski possesses similar leadership skills – he skippered Burnley in a dozen Premier League matches last term, including his last seven games – so if Seamus Coleman, who turns 34 in October, does find himself phased out next season then Everton might have also acquired the ideal candidate to take on the armband.
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