Brentford Football club could be set to receive a rather tasty transfer sell-on windfall in January courtesy of our former defender James Tarkowski, who is at the centre of growing club move rumours after a string of rave reviews and man of the match performances for Burnley.

Chelsea, Manchester City and Arsenal’s names have been linked, and with Virgil van Dijk commanding a whopping £75m price tag in his move from Southampton to Liverpool, Tarki’s transfer to one of the big three clubs could go through the roof too – Burnley are unlikely to stand in the player’s way if a £30m-plus bid comes in, a figure that has been reported.

Tarkowski is likely to have learned from his previous mistakes and I doubt we’ll see him going ‘on strike’ again to get an even bigger move – but it would appear that his performances in the Premier League this season will be rewarded with a dream move as well as a call up to the England set up at some stage this season.

Tarkowski’s relationship with Brentford fans will be forever tarnished because of the unprofessional way that led to his ultimate departure (as you can hear in the podcast below), but we must also tip our hats and acknowledge the part he played in getting Brentford promoted to the Championship and establishing ourselves at this level.

We always knew he was a classy, ball-playing defender, and thankfully, despite the live on TV antics when he refused to play against the team he was set to sign for, at least we got a decent fee for his services, one which could get even better for the Bees.

So how much are Brentford likely to receive for James Tarkowski if he does depart Turf Moor in January? Well, the answer to that could be over £6m if you make an educated guess compared to the van Dijk deal – the Tarki hype may be fresher, but you cannot deny there are comparisons to be made between the two players, and based on form and the influence Tarki has had in big games this campaign, what ever club secures his signature is likely to have to break Burnley’s transfer record.

When Andre Gray was sold from Burnley to Watford in the summer – the Bees’ cut was in the region of 25%  (27.5% apparently) – and there is no reason to question why Brentford’s negotiating team would have settled for a figure much different to that based on recent history – which would constitute a significant jackpot bonus as we reach the half-way point of the season with the play-offs still in sight.

Let’s hope Tarki is feeling restless again and the Bank of Burnley has to write the Bees another fat cheque some time very soon.

Dave Lane
@beesotted100

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