Christopher Beesley reckons speculation linking captain James Tarkowski with a potential move to Stamford Bridge in the week before Everton host Chelsea sounds like mischief making
James Tarkowski of Everton
James Tarkowski of Everton(Image: George Wood/Getty Images)
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You’ve got to be constantly braced for shocks at Everton – last Friday’s sale announcement from The Friedkin Group being a case in point – but rumours linking captain James Tarkowski with a potential move to Stamford Bridge in the week before Chelsea come to Hill Dickinson Stadium feel like a bit of mischief-making.
Goodison News have picked up on a titbit from Chelsea fan and podcast host Simon Phillips, who they cite as telling his YouTube Channel on October 12: “James Tarkowski from Everton would definitely tick a lot of those boxes in terms of the experience and other bits and pieces. Now, you might say why am I talking about Tarkowski? Basically I’ve had his name mentioned to me, last week actually.
“I haven’t put anything out on it yet and I’ve been trying to clarify the information and if there’s actually anything to it. I’ve been checking in on it and had his name mentioned to me in a sense that the source said: ‘You might want to look into this, there could be something there.’
“But the source was not telling me that Chelsea are interested in Tarkowski, they were telling me you might want to research this. That’s what I’m doing right now, I’m trying to find out about it, if there’s anything to it, it’s a whisper, a very small whisper.”
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Very small whisper? Sounds more like the biggest ‘Careless Whisper’ since George Michael was topping the charts in 1984.
In terms of the prospect of 2026 being Tarkowski’s ‘Last Christmas’ at Hill Dickinson Stadium, this correspondent doubts it. Snapped up on a Bosman-style free transfer from Burnley when his contract at Turf Moor had expired, the centre-back has proved to be one of Everton’s great bargain buys of this decade.
The ECHO understands the deal was actually done several weeks before, but Goodison Park chiefs held off with an official announcement until July 1, such was the bad blood between the two clubs at the time, which would result in the Blues being ordered to pay the Clarets £35million this summer after staying up in 2021/22 but later being found guilty of a PSR breach.
Since arriving on Merseyside though, Tarkowski – who in that previous campaign had Evertonians up in arms over a bone-crunching challenge on Richarlison in front of the Bullens Road Stand, which watching pundit Gary Neville scolded had: “No place in football” – racked up 109 consecutive starts in the Premier League before suffering a hamstring injury against Manchester City on April 19 last year.
Bouncing back from that to miss just one game in the competition last season, such is Tarkowski’s durability, he has played 30 or more Premier League matches across nine consecutive campaigns now. You can see why the Stamford Bridge recruitment team, who after previously targeting youthful talent, brought in grizzled veterans like Jordan Henderson (36) and Danny Welbeck (35) this summer, might be interested if they’re on the lookout for a physical centre-half.
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But there is no appetite at Finch Farm for letting their on-field leader – who celebrates his 34th birthday next month – exit for the capital any time soon and join the growing band of football’s version of the Chelsea Pensioners. Once upon a time he actually plied his trade in west London, turning out for Brentford but in an act that now seems surprising given his commitment to the cause, amid a series of transfer bids, he refused to turn out in a match against Sean Dyche’s Burnley as a 23-year-old in 2016, a fortnight before the Mancunian returned to his native North West by making a move to Turf Moor.
David Moyes, a centre-back himself in his playing days, has always been a big fan. Back in 2020 when he was in charge of West Ham United, he had a £30million bid for Tarkowski rejected and on returning to Everton, his plan was always to build a team around the triangular defensive axis of him, Jarrad Branthwaite and Jordan Pickford, all of whom signed new contracts last year.
As the scorer of the last-gasp equaliser with an explosive volley that ensued after 120 matches across more than 130 years, Everton didn’t finish with a losing record against Liverpool in Merseyside derbies at Goodison Park, Tarkowski will always have a special place in Blues’ hearts. Afterwards, he remarked: “I had an 80-year-old grabbing me and then a five-year-old kid pulling me to the floor, there were stewards everywhere, it was chaos, but it shows what a moment it is.”
James Tarkowski celebrates his goal during the match between Everton and Liverpool at Goodison Park on February 12, 2025
James Tarkowski celebrates his goal during the match between Everton and Liverpool at Goodison Park on February 12, 2025(Image: Tony McArdle/Everton FC/SmartFrame)
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And then following Everton’s latest match, the 2-2 draw at Hull City on Sunday, the on-field leader who has now been elevated to club captain, officially succeeding the long-serving Seamus Coleman this summer, spoke of their virtues when addressing The Friedkin Group’s search for new owners. He said: “I think Everton are one of the biggest clubs in the country.
“We’ve got an exceptional stadium, a manager who is one of the most experienced managers in the game and a quality side with a lot of young and experienced players too. We have quite a few young players that are at the early stage of their careers and are going to progress and turn into top, top players so we know we are still a work in progress.
“So, from my perspective and most Everton fans, it’s an amazing club to be part of.”
Perhaps Tarkowski’s centre-back partner Branthwaite was more at the forefront of the thoughts of a fellow journalist who pointed out to Moyes in his pre-match press conference for the trip to MKM Stadium that there would be several members of his squad – that contains just 18 outfield players, including a solitary striker, right-back and left-back – who could raise significant funds for the Texas-based company in the January transfer window.
However, the Glaswegian gaffer was emphatic in his response when he said: “Don’t talk about that because I’m not selling any!”
We’ll leave the last word though to Blues superfan Dr David France, who sold his 10,000-item collection of memorabilia to the Everton Collection Charitable Trust at a heavily discounted price so it could be kept for posterity while also founding the Everton Former Players’ Foundation to raise money for the physical and pastoral care of ex-professionals who have represented the club.
Arguably the individual who has done the most for Everton without ever being employed by the club, when being interviewed by this correspondent when on his most recent visit to the UK last April, the 78-year-old, who has lived in North America for over four decades, said: “I think James Tarkowski is a great influence at the club. I think the day when he gets too old, and I don’t think that’s now, we’ll miss him.
“He’ll be very difficult to replace. He reminds me of a bouncer, he looks after everyone. He’s a warrior. I called him a bouncer, that’s very unfair, he’s a champion, he’s the guy you want in your corner.
“He’ll never let you down. You need that in a team, you need that in any organisation, somebody like that.”