West Ham’s James Tarkowski pursuit hits bump as Burnley ask for £27m transfer offer to be DOUBLED
WEST HAM will have to almost double their opening bid to stand any chance of landing James Tarkowski from Burnley.
The Hammers first offer was believed to be in the region of £27million for the Clarets’ England defender.
But, according to the Burnley want closer to £50m.
The Lancashire club noted that Bournemouth got £40m from Manchester City for Nathan Ake – and believe their man is worth considerably more.
In any case, Sean Dyche is in no rush to sell the 27-year-old, who has spent the last four years with him and formed a formidable partnership with Ben Mee.
Leicester and Crystal Palace have also been monitoring the former Oldham man but he is highly-rated at Turf Moor.
Meanwhile fellow centre-back Ben Gibson is relieved his Turf Moor nightmare is over after joining Norwich on a season long loan.
The Clarets joint record signing was unable to force his way into the reckoning and grew increasingly frustrated at his lack of opportunites.
Gibson said: “It’s been a really, really tough two years, I won’t hide from that.
“I’m someone that wears my heart on my sleeve and not someone who sits comfortable and is happy to sit on the bench.
“I want to play football, that’s why I got involved in the game.
"That’s what we all dreamed of doing when we were young.
“I had that opportunity and I felt I was quite successful, but I feel that got taken away from me, as such.”