James Tarkowski Closing in on £40m Leicester Move

Burnley centre-back James Tarkowski is close to joining Leicester in a deal worth around £40m.

Tarkowski has been a mainstay for Burnley in defence after joining from Brentford in 2016, making 143 appearances in all competitions for the Clarets and appearing twice for England in a period which has seen him establish himself as one of the league's most consistent defenders.

He has been the subject of much interest during this summer transfer window, with West Ham having bid twice for the centre-back, who has been absent for the entirety of Burnley's 2020/21 season with a toe injury.

The Telegraph report that Tarkowski is now closing in on a move to the King Power Stadium if Burnley's asking price of £40m is met.

The proposed sum of £40m from the Foxes would far exceed the reported fee of £30m which West Ham initially tabled for the defender, having already seen an opening offer of £27m rejected.

Burnley manager Sean Dyche has made it clear that he is far from pleased with Tarkowski's proposed move.

"It will be a board decision," Dyche said of the call to accept Leicester's bid. "I certainly want to keep him, make no mistake, he is a very important player, I think it is very important we keep him."

It has been a frustrating window for Dyche and Burnley, who have added only Dale Stephens and backup goalkeeper Will Norris to their first-team squad, but Dyche insists that he has always been realistic about the challenges involved in operating on a shoestring budget.

"When I first got here, we sold Charlie Austin and had three free transfers. That’s the way it goes," Dyche recalled. "I try and manage the model we have, try and manage with the guidance we have from the chairman and the board and that’s that. There is no ‘damage,’ it’s just the truth about the club and the way it wants to work.

"It’s worked well for us over a period of time. I’ve said we need to stretch it, we need to look at it because the market doesn’t care what we think."