Burnley adamant that James Tarkowski will not be sold for less than £50m release clause with Leicester City reigniting interest in England defender
- Leicester City are keen to reignite in Burnley defender James Tarkowski this year
- The centre-back impressed as he helped the Clarets achieve a top-half finish
- But Sean Dyche’s side will not sell the defender for less than £50million
Burnley will demand £50million for defender James Tarkowski during the transfer window.
The 27-year-old was courted by Leicester last summer and is set to be in demand again after a solid season for the Clarets, who finished 10th in the Premier League after performing impressively post-lockdown.
Yet it is thought Burnley currently have no intention of negotiating the release clause in Tarkowski’s contract, given the difficulty of buying a replacement of the same level if he is sold.
Burnley will not sell defender James Tarkowski for less than his £50million release clause
Leicester City, managed by Brendan Rodgers (above), are keen to buy the defender this year
Leicester showed strong interested in Tarkowski 12 months ago but could not agree a deal and eventually gave Caglar Soyuncu an extended run in central defence, which paid off as he and Jonny Evans were one of the league’s best partnerships for much of the campaign.
But Foxes boss Brendan Rodgers is keen to strengthen in central defence.
Besides Evans and Soyuncu, Leicester have 36-year-old title-winning captain Wes Morgan and youngster Filip Benkovic, who spent the second half of last season on loan at Bristol City.
Tarkowski (pictured) is deemed the long-term successor to Foxes captain Wes Morgan
The Burnley man has two England caps and was on the Three Lions’ standby list for Russia 2018
Tarkowski joined Burnley from Brentford for £3.6m in 2016 and quickly established himself as a key figure at Turf Moor.
He has won two caps for England and made Gareth Southgate’s standby list for the 2018 World Cup.
‘He is at a brilliant age and he is continuing to mature,’ said Burnley boss Sean Dyche.
‘He is continuing to grow into his role as an all-round leader and he is physically superb.’
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