James Tarkowski
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James Alan Tarkowski (born 19 November 1992) is an English professional
footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...
who plays as a centre-back for club Everton. Tarkowski began his professional career at
Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The history of Oldham Athletic be ...
of
League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...
, where he made 89 appearances across all competitions. In January 2014, he moved to Brentford for an undisclosed fee, winning promotion to the
Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...
in his first season. Two years later he signed for
Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, Lancashire, Preston, at the confluence of the River C ...
. He made his debut for
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
in March 2018, starting in a 1–1 draw against Italy.


Early and personal life

Tarkowski was born in
Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
and grew up in
New Moston New Moston is a suburb of Manchester, England. Historically in Lancashire, it lies four and a half miles north east of Manchester city centre, between Moston, Failsworth and Chadderton. New Moston Primary School was founded in 1901. New M ...
. He attended New Moston Primary School and Failsworth High School, which he left in 2009. Tarkowski began his career in the youth system at
Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...
, before being released at the age of 14 at his own request. After his spell at Blackburn, Tarkowski had a stint playing senior football at
Maine Road Maine Road was a football stadium in Moss Side, Manchester, England, that was home to Manchester City F.C. from 1923 to 2003. It hosted FA Cup semi-finals, the Charity Shield, a League Cup final and England matches. Maine Road's highest a ...
in the
North West Counties League The North West Counties Football League is a football league in the North West of England. Since 2019–20, the league has covered the Isle of Man, Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Merseyside, Cumbria, northern Staffordshire, northern ...
. He is a Manchester United fan and admired David Beckham and
Paul Scholes Paul Scholes (born 16 November 1974) is an English football coach, pundit, former player, and co-owner of Salford City. He spent his entire professional playing career with Manchester United, for whom he scored over 150 goals in more than 700 ...
while growing up.


Club career


Oldham Athletic


Early years

Tarkowski joined
League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...
club
Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The history of Oldham Athletic be ...
on a two-year scholarship in May 2009. He made his reserve-team debut in October 2009. A centre-back, Tarkowski was called up to the first team for the first time for a league match versus Plymouth Argyle on 15 January 2011. His senior debut came on 22 January, coming on as an 80th-minute substitute for the injured Neal Trotman in a 2–1 home win over Brentford. Tarkowski made his first Latics start in a 1–0 defeat to
Leyton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club is a professional football club based in Leyton, East London, England, who compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are the second oldest football club in London to play at a profession ...
on 12 March and played the full 90 minutes. He was awarded a two-year professional contract by the club in May 2011. He made 9 appearances during the second half of the 2010–11 season. Tarkowski had to wait until 10 December 2011 to make his first appearance of the 2011–12 season, when he came on as a 61st-minute substitute for Jean-Yves Mvoto in a 2–0 home defeat to
Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot ...
. A half time substitute appearance in Oldham's 2–1
Football League Trophy The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Le ...
Northern Area final first leg defeat to
Chesterfield Chesterfield may refer to: Places Canada * Rural Municipality of Chesterfield No. 261, Saskatchewan * Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom * Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England ** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constitue ...
on 30 January 2012 kicked off a run which saw Tarkowski included in almost all of Oldham's first-team squads until the end of the season. Tarkowski crowned his run of appearances by scoring his first senior goal for the club on the final day of the season in a 2–1 win over Carlisle United. He made 18 appearances during the 2011–12 season and scored one goal.


Breakthrough

Tarkowski began the 2012–13 season as a first-choice centre-back alongside Jean-Yves Mvoto and started Oldham's first six games of the season. He scored his first goal of the season in a 2–0 league win over
Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, that competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' because of ...
on 2 October 2012. Tarkowski played a part in Oldham's run to the fifth round of the
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
, playing in the first round win over
Conference Premier The National League, known as the Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest level of the National League System and fifth-highest of the overall English football league system. It is the highest league that is semi-professi ...
team Kidderminster Harriers and starting in the home draw and away replay defeat to
Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...
team Everton in the fifth round. He scored his second goal of the season in a 2–1 league win over Stevenage on 19 February 2013. Tarkowski made 26 appearances and scored two goals during the 2012–13 season. He signed a new two-year contract in the summer of 2013. Tarkowski began the 2013–14 season with a bang, scoring Oldham's first goal in a 4–3 away league win over Stevenage on the opening day. He was picked by the Latics supporters as Oldham's Player of the Month for August 2013. Now lining up at centre-back alongside
Jonathan Grounds Jonathan Martin Grounds (born 2 February 1988) is an English professional footballer who plays as a left back or centre back for club Exeter City. Grounds began his career with his local club, Middlesbrough, but never became a regular memb ...
, Tarkowski scored his second goal in a 2–1 defeat to Preston North End on 9 September 2013. Tarkowski was an ever-present in Oldham's runs to the Northern Area semi-final of the Football League Trophy and the third round of the FA Cup. He started the FA Cup third round tie against Premier League team
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...
at
Anfield Anfield is a football stadium in Anfield, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, which has a seating capacity of 53,394, making it the seventh largest football stadium in England. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 189 ...
and scored an 82nd minute
own goal An own goal, also called a self goal, is where a player performs actions that result in them or their team scoring a goal on themselves, often resulting in a point for the opposing team, such as when a football player kicks a ball into their own ...
, which consigned the Latics to a 2–0 defeat. Tarkowski's form saw him offered a new contract extending until the end of the 2016–17 season on 22 January 2014, but he departed
Boundary Park Boundary Park is a football stadium in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. Its name originates from the fact that it lies at the northwestern extremity of Oldham, with Royton and Chadderton lying immediately north and west respectively. Bound ...
9 days later. During his time with the Latics, Tarkowski made 89 appearances and scored six goals.


Brentford

Tarkowski signed for League One club Brentford on a three-and-a-half-year contract for an undisclosed fee on 31 January 2014. After a period on the bench, he made his Brentford debut with a start in a 0–0 draw away to Carlisle United on 1 March. He scored his first goal for the club on his third appearance, heading in to send the Bees on their way to a 2–0 victory over
Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they ado ...
on 11 March. Four days later, Tarkowski was
sent off In sports, an ejection (also known as dismissal, sending-off, disqualification, or early shower) is the removal of a participant from a contest due to a violation of the sport's rules. The exact violations that lead to an ejection vary depending ...
for the second time in his career during a 1–0 win over Leyton Orient. Following Brentford's promotion to the
Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...
on 18 April, Tarkowski scored his second goal for the club in a 2–2 draw at
Milton Keynes Dons Milton Keynes Dons Football Club (), usually abbreviated to MK Dons, is a professional association football club based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third tier of the English football league system. The ...
on 21 April. He finished the 2013–14 season with 13 appearances and two goals. Tarkowski began his first season at Championship level as an ever-present in the Bees' league matches. He suffered a dip in form in September and early October, stepping up to take his first
penalty Penalty or The Penalty may refer to: Sports * Penalty (golf) * Penalty (gridiron football) * Penalty (ice hockey) * Penalty (rugby) * Penalty (rugby union) * Penalty kick (association football) * Penalty shoot-out (association football) A p ...
for the club in a league match versus
Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...
on 27 September and hammering the ball over the bar. He was spared his blushes, with Jota and
Alan McCormack Alan McCormack (born 10 January 1984) is an Irish football coach and former professional player who played as a right-back or midfielder. He is an academy coach at club Luton Town. He began his career at Preston North End and later played fo ...
on target in the eventual 2–0 win. Tarkowski gave away a penalty in a 2–1 defeat to
Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, and ...
on 30 September and received his fourth
yellow card Yellow card may refer to: * Yellow card (sport), shown in many sports after a rules infraction or, by analogy, a serious warning in other areas * Yellowcard, an American alternative rock band * Yellow Card Scheme, a United Kingdom initiative conce ...
of the season (his third in four matches). Another yellow card in a 0–0 draw with
Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, ...
on 18 October saw him incur a suspension and he failed to appear again until 28 December, scoring what proved to be
Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...
' winner with an own goal in a 2–1 defeat. Despite the blunder, Tarkowski held onto his starting place and scored his first goal of the season against
Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spelling ...
on 25 April 2015, making sure of the points with the second in a 2–0 win. Tarkowski had the opportunity to convert a late penalty to make it two goals in two games in the following match against Wigan Athletic, but his miss made little difference with the Bees already 3–0 ahead. He appeared in both legs of Brentford's 5–1 playoff semi-final aggregate defeat to
Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...
and finished the 2014–15 season with 38 appearances and one goal. Tarkowski helped salvage a 2–2 draw with
Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn profession ...
on the opening day of the 2015–16 season,
feeding Eating (also known as consuming) is the ingestion of food, typically to provide a heterotrophic organism with energy and to allow for growth. Animals and other heterotrophs must eat in order to survive — carnivores eat other animals, herbi ...
Andre Gray Andre Anthony Gray (born 26 June 1991) is a professional footballer who plays as a striker for Super League Greece club Aris. Born in England, he represents the Jamaica national team. A product of the Shrewsbury Town youth system, Gray came ...
to score in
injury time Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
, before bundling home a 96th-minute equaliser to earn a place in the Football League Team of the Week. He suffered a displaced fracture of the nose in the following match versus
Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...
, but kept his place alongside Harlee Dean until suffering a calf injury in a 1–1 draw with Leeds United on 12 September. He missed two matches before being
sent off In sports, an ejection (also known as dismissal, sending-off, disqualification, or early shower) is the removal of a participant from a contest due to a violation of the sport's rules. The exact violations that lead to an ejection vary depending ...
on his return in a 2–1 defeat to Sheffield Wednesday. Amidst a number of transfer bids, Tarkowski was internally disciplined for refusing to play in Brentford's match versus
Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, Lancashire, Preston, at the confluence of the River C ...
on 15 January 2016, for which he later apologised. He failed to appear for the Bees again and departed Griffin Park two weeks later, having made 74 appearances and scored four goals in two years with the club.


Burnley

On 1 February 2016, Tarkowski signed a three-and-a-half-year contract with Championship club Burnley for an undisclosed fee. Tarkowski made his club debut on 20 February against
Rotherham United Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The club's colours were initially yellow and black, but changed to red and white around 1 ...
, entering as a substitute in the first half for Michael Keane, who was forced off with a head injury. Tarkowski deputised for Keane for the next two games, with Burnley victorious against
Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...
and Bolton Wanderers. However, Keane was preferred by manager
Sean Dyche Sean Mark Dyche (; born 28 June 1971) is an English professional football manager and former player who was most recently the manager of Burnley. During his playing career, Dyche played as a centre-back, making his professional debut in 1990 ...
at right centre-back upon his return to fitness as Tarkowski was limited to one substitution appearance the rest of the season. In third position in the table at the time of Tarkowski's signing, Burnley went unbeaten the rest of the season as they won their third ever second-tier title and direct promotion to the
Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...
on their first attempt. Tarkowski was handed the captain's armband for Burnley's 1–0 extra-time defeat to fourth-tier
Accrington Stanley Accrington Stanley Football Club is a professional association football club based in Accrington, Lancashire, England. The club competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They have spent their complete his ...
in the EFL Cup on 24 August, after Dyche had made 10 changes to the team that upset Liverpool four days prior. Tarkowski made his Premier League debut on 27 August at
Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
, coming on as a substitute and receiving a booking for a foul in the run-up to Chelsea's final goal in the 3–0 defeat. Unable to crack the preferred centre-back partnership of Keane and Ben Mee, Tarkowski received scant playing time, despite being an ever-present on the bench. He was a halftime substitution on 23 April 2017 against Manchester United for Mee, who left with a shin injury, opening the door for his first Premier League start on 29 April against
Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...
. Tarkowski endured being hit by an object thrown by a Palace fan during celebrations of Ashley Barnes' opening goal en route to a clean sheet. Manager Dyche lauded his performance as "outstanding". Tarkowski would retain his place in the team for Burnley's final four fixtures, during which Burnley ensured their participation in the next edition. During the summer transfer window, teammate Michael Keane departed for Everton, allowing Tarkowski to line up with Mee in the centre of Burnley's defence on a full-time basis. Assigned the shirt number 26 initially, Tarkowski assumed the number 5 shirt vacated by Keane ahead of the season. Tarkowski's performance against Crystal Palace on 10 September was deemed Man of the Match worthy by
Sky Sports Sky Sports is a group of British subscription sports channels operated by the satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It ...
, as Tarkowski held Benteke and Palace without a goal. His 17 clearances in the match were the most by anyone in the Premier League that season, besting a mark previously held by himself in Burnley's surprise opening day victory over Chelsea. He scored in
Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, Lancashire, Preston, at the confluence of the River C ...
's opening game defeat against
Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...
in the
2021–22 Premier League The 2021–22 Premier League was the 30th season of the Premier League, the top English professional league for association football clubs since its establishment in 1992, and the 123rd season of top-flight English football overall. The start a ...
season. On 10 June, Burnley announced Tarkowski would leave the club at the end of June when his contract expired.


Everton

On 2 July 2022, Tarkowski signed for Premier League club Everton on a free following his release from Burnley, signing a four-year contract. On 6 August 2022, Tarkowski made his debut for the club in a 1-0 loss against
Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
in the Premier League.


International career

Tarkowski was eligible to play for Poland through his grandfather but preferred to play for England, stating "I've always seen myself as an English person so to play for Poland would be difficult." On 15 March 2018, he was named in the
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
squad for pre- 2018 FIFA World Cup friendlies against the
Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
and
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
in March. He made his debut on 27 March when starting in the 1–1 draw with Italy at
Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 2002 to 2003. The stadium ...
. On 16 May 2018, he was one of five players named on standby for
Gareth Southgate Gareth Southgate (born 3 September 1970) is an English professional football manager and former player who played as a defender and midfielder. He has been the manager of the England national team since 2016. Southgate won the League Cup ...
's 23-man England national team squad for the World Cup, but Tarkowski was reported to have withdrawn from the standby list later for a hernia operation.


Career statistics


Club


International


Honours

Brentford * Football League One runner-up: 2013–14 Individual *
Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The history of Oldham Athletic be ...
Player of the Month: August 2013


References


External links


Profile
at the Everton F.C. website * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tarkowski, James 1992 births Living people People from Moston, Manchester Footballers from Manchester English footballers Association football defenders Maine Road F.C. players Oldham Athletic A.F.C. players Brentford F.C. players Burnley F.C. players Everton F.C. players English Football League players Premier League players England international footballers English people of Polish descent