Aston Villa make £120,000-per-week offer to James Tarkowski

James Tarkowski is weighing up a double-your-money offer, worth around £120,000-per-week, from Aston Villa as they bid to win the race to sign the defender.

Villa are rivalling Everton and Fulham to sign centre-back Tarkowski who will be a free agent this summer when his contract at relegated Burnley expires.

The lack of transfer fee involved in signing Tarkowski this summer has increased his appeal along with his prospects of securing a lucrative deal.

Everton are prepared to pay Tarkowski in the region of £90,000-per-week but Villa are willing to top that to land the 29 year-old who earns in the region of £60,000-per-week at Turf Moor.

Villa have already made an eye-catching start to the summer window, bolstering Steven Gerrard's squad by snapping up French midfielder Boubacar Kamara on a free from Marseille amid considerable competition from across Europe.

Backed by billionaire owners Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens, they are also on the lookout for another midfielder and a forward, and are expected to be one of the most active clubs in Europe this window.

A successful move for Tarkowski, who has also been linked with the likes of West Ham, Newcastle and Leicester as his Burnley contract has ticked down, would be equally shrewd, even with the significant wages involved.

Tarkowski has been one of Burnley's most reliable and consistent performers in their six seasons in the Premier League, a top-flight spell which came to an end last weekend when they were relegated to the Championship following their home defeat against Newcastle.