West Ham will not be attempting to release Burnley’s James Tarkowski from his current Burnley misery in January with the Clarets marooned in the bottom three.
The central defender was a major David Moyes target in the summer and is out of contract in June 2022 but the Hammers – strapped for cash like most other clubs – have no plans to make a renewed bid having seen a £35 million offer snubbed.
It’s unlikely anyway that the Clarets would be ready to let the player go given their position which sees them having conceded 17 goals with a goal difference of -13 and firmly entrenched in a relegation battle.
We understand that having an obligation to buy Said Benrahma for close to £25 million at the end of the season means that the Tarkowski option is now dead in the water.
And a back-up striker is now seen as the priority with the Hammers hoping to work out an instalments deal for Bournemouth’s Josh King.
West Ham lost £45m last season and will lose at least £50m this season if not more and are desperate, like all clubs for fans to return in numbers, to see things become financially sustainable
The Hammers are losing £2m per home game in ticket/corporate revenue and the return of 2,000 supporters per game will do next to nothing to plug the hole in our finances.
The combination of spending under Manuel Pellegrini and the pandemic has meant the club has needed to borrow heavily.
A £30m rights issue in August was not enough and the club also borrowed from Barclays Bank against next season’s TV money in addition to a multi-million revolving credit facility from Media rights and Funding.
James Tarkowski is not out of contract with Burnley Football Club until June 2022 and not June next year.
So the decision is not to spend money
Well blow me down with a feather
Who on earth could have seen that coming
Lolololololol
We have 2 centre backs who cannot get in the starting 11, and not because they have been given a chance to show they are not good enough, but because the guys playing have been so solid.
We have one striker and one converted winger in the whole squad. With no youth players knocking on the door, up front is where we need cover first and foremost.
Quite right Che!
Tarkowski is not worth the money and anyway he turned up his nose about coming here!