Ciaran Clark was omitted from Newcastle United’s Premier League squad in January, so he hasn’t made an appearance for the Magpies in nearly five months. Federico Fernandez was another casualty of Eddie Howe’s appointment as manager, failing to make an appearance in 2022, so the defensive duo could be on their way out this summer.
Howe will be left with Dan Burn, Fabian Schar and Jamaal Lascelles at centre-back, so he could do with a fourth option in case of injury. Newcastle have been linked with LOSC Lille’s Sven Botman and Aston Villa’s Tyrone Mings, but they came close to signing Burnley’s James Tarkowski before Everton hijacked the deal.
Alex McLeish accused Newcastle are ‘humming and hawing’ over the 29-year-old rather than offering a contract he couldn’t refuse. He told Football Insider: “Is it a statement of Everton moving forward? I don’t really know. Maybe there wasn’t the interest in him from those other clubs as there was from Everton.
“Maybe (Newcastle) were humming and hawing, you just don’t know what is going on in the background. What I’ve seen of Tarkowski, he looks a very, very capable player. If Newcastle had really wanted him, I think they would have usurped Everton.”
Tarkowski joined Burnley from Brentford in 2016 and made 219 appearances across the board, scoring seven goals with five assists. The 29-year-old has been a terrific servant, but he opted to run his contract down this season as Burnley suffered relegation, so he should be playing Premier League football elsewhere.
Tarkowski is highly experienced in the top-flight and wouldn’t have been a bad option for Newcastle on a free transfer, but it appears the Magpies have set their sights higher than the Englishman.
In other news, Frank McAvennie praises Dan Ashworth after Newcastle transfer announcements
