New Everton club captain James Tarkowski was speaking after his injury-time equaliser secured a 1-1 draw at Bournemouth
BOURNEMOUTH, ENGLAND - AUGUST 29: Everton's James Tarkowski (centre) celebrates scoring his side's equalising goal to make the score 1-1 during the Premier League 2026/27 match between AFC Bournemouth and Everton at Vitality Stadium on August 29, 2026 in Bournemouth, England. (Photo by David Horton - CameraSport via Getty Images)
James Tarkowski (centre) celebrates his dramatic equaliser for Everton at Bournemouth (Image: David Horton - CameraSport via Getty Images)
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James Tarkowski has declared that becoming Everton club captain is the proudest moment of his career after he netted his first goal since succeeding Seamus Coleman on a permanent basis to secure a 1-1 draw at Bournemouth on Saturday with a dramatic stoppage-time equaliser.
The 33-year-old said: “I think it’s my proudest moment really. I’ve done it with Seamus in the background, so while they called me captain in the dressing room, I never really felt like the captain because we all knew who the real captain was.
“It’s nice that I’ve been given the honour of leading this club out and I’m proud every time I get the opportunity to do that and proud to be an Everton player.
“It’s tough because everyone speaks about Seamus and how good a personality he was, every time he walked into the dressing room. I know I can’t be that person as he spent so much time here.
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“I’ve just got to try and do it my own way, to try and lead and to try and be honest, try to speak to people with respect and to try and represent the club in a way it wants to be represented.
Tarkowski felt his late leveller was fully deserved for the Blues after the Cherries had taken the lead against the run of play late in the first half, only for the visitors to defend resolutely after the break.
He said: “It was a nice moment to score, we stuck in there in the second half. I thought we played really well in the first half and we managed to sustain a lot of the attacks in our box although we didn’t punish them with the chances that we had.
“In the second half, they were on top but there was defending from everyone around the box, putting their bodies on the line plus Jordan (Pickford) in a couple of moments. I was just saying to the lads, especially when they had a few corners against us, we’ll punish them like they punished us in the first half.
“I had a lot more time than I initially thought. I turned around, the ball bounced and there was nobody too close to me, so I knew I just had to strike the ball and hit the target as it was on a wet, slick pitch and it was going to be tough for the keeper to save it as long as I caught it well enough.”
Tarkowski insists his newly elevated status hasn’t changed his relationship with manager David Moyes, though.
He said: “He’s always very honest and open with me. Whenever I need any reminders, over the way I’m playing or the way I’m acting, one thing I always appreciate is that he’s as honest and as open as he can be and while I’ve got a really good relationship with him, I don’t think it’s changed too much.”