James Tarkowski can follow Jordan Pickford and previous Everton transfer success stories

James Tarkowski is closing in on a move to Everton to begin what could be a very important transfer window for the Blues.

Frank Lampard and Kevin Thelwell know the task at hand coming into this summer. The finances aren't great, but there needs to be significant additions in quality across multiple positions to be able to improve this squad and progress them away from the bottom end of the table.

To avoid being embroiled in another relegation fight next season, many fans have highlighted the defence as a clear area to improve. The potential addition of the 29-year-old, then, will no doubt be a welcome one.

And Tarkowski could easily follow in the footsteps of previous Everton transfers in one interesting aspect. Some suggest that the signing of players from relegated sides isn't a good idea, but many who have made the move to Goodison Park in even the recent past have managed to buck that trend quite handsomely.

Take Jordan Pickford as your first fine example. After a very busy 2016/17 season, the goalkeeper couldn't help Sunderland avoid a drop to the Championship that many had been expecting a couple of seasons previously.

He impressed enough though for Everton to make a big-money move in the summer of 2017, kicking off what has been a very interesting time on Merseyside so far. Granted he's not enjoyed a flawless five years with the Blues by any stretch of the imagination, but the days of him making consistent mistakes are now long in the past.

There's little doubting that Pickford is now one of the most crucial members of Everton's squad. In fact, if he wasn't in such good form in the final stages of last season particularly, he could very well have suffered another relegation.

Looking a bit further back at Everton's