Journalist claims there’s ‘still a huge possibility’ West Ham land top centre-back target

West Ham United are still reportedly interested in making a summer swoop for Burnley’s England centre-back James Tarkowski.

Hammers boss David Moyes is well known to be in the market for a new central defender, as he looks to further strengthen his squad for another assault on the European places next season.

West Ham‘s interest in the 29-year-old actually dates back to 2020, when they saw Burnley knock back multiple bids for the player.

The final offer at that time was said to be around £30million. However, Tarkowski could now move to the London Stadium on a free, with his contract up this summer.

90min reported during the January window that the Hammers were willing to wait until the summer to get their man. And recent comments by Clarets chairman Alan Pace indicated that Tarkowski is open to a Turf Moor exit.

“From my perspective, James is fantastic, and we’d love him to stay longer,” Pace informed Express Sport. “He obviously – at least from what he has said – feels that there are other opportunities and ambitions.”

Newcastle are also known to be keen on a move, although they landed Dan Burn from Brighton in January to bolster their backline.

Tarkowski’s future at Burnley will very much depend on whether they stay up or not. Sean Dyche’s men are currently sitting in the relegation zone four points behind Everton in 17th.

However, Daily Star journalist Paul Brown claims that there is a ‘huge possibility’ that the imposing defender could join West Ham when the current campaign ends.

He told GiveMeSport: “I don’t think the Tarkowski interest has gone away. Obviously, they could be in another division and forced to sell in the summer. I think there’s a huge possibility that that deal could still happen.”

Tarkowski has