Alternatives to James Tarkowski for West Ham – data analysis

West Ham made a very public attempt in the summer transfer window to lure Burnley centre-back James Tarkowski away from Turf Moor to the London Stadium. After a disappointing 2019/20 season, it was clear that the Hammers needed to invest substantially in a new centre-back, along with a full-back, which they did by bringing in right-back Vladimír Coufal. After being rebuffed by Burnley with a third bid rumoured to be £31 million, with it being suggested Burnley wanted £50 million, West Ham seemed to take a more scattergun approach and were linked with dozens of centre-backs in the days leading up to deadline day. Despite this, no new centre-back has arrived to support the current crop of Angelo Ogbonna, Issa Diop, and Fabian Balbuena, and instead, it looks like winger Said Benrahma will be moving to East London.

West Ham have been culprits of bringing in players that don’t fit their needs in the past, and if they’re waiting until January to bring in the right player, then that’s a sign of maturity from the board. But, having forked out large money on transfer fees and/or big wages in recent seasons for the likes of Sebastien Haller, Felipe Anderson, Andriy Yarmolenko and Jack Wilshere, as well as the impending transfer of Benrahma, West Ham may not have massive amounts to be spending.

As a result, this data analysis will offer options at different price tags, from the amount they offered for Tarkowski, right down to potentially less than a couple of million. However, we have focused on using data to identify a centre-back with similar traits to the Burnley centre-back, or at the very least those with the potential to become a player of similar ilk.

To find these players I used Total Football Analysis xGold system, and Sathish Prasad V T created the visuals.

James Tarkowski

Tarkowski is a well-rounded defender who is very comfortable in possession with an excellent passing range. Whilst he is calm on the ball, he doesn’t play a huge role in structuring build-up with short passes, and that likely comes down to Burnley’s principles of play as much as it does down to Tarkowski’s ability. However, his high-ranking amongst his league peers for through passes per 90 and passes to the penalty area, show someone who has the eye for a longer pass (as is indicated by his long ball ratio and average pass length), rather than someone who is going to control the tempo from the back line. He has a quick release on these longer passes, and will catch opposition defences out of balance should he see an opportunity for a long pass into a target player, or behind the opposition defence for an attacker to run onto.

Defensively, he is solid aerially as he is in standard defensive duels, whilst his PAdj interceptions and shots blocked per 90 indicate his strength in his game-reading. His timing in tackles is outstanding, and he has grown into a presence in Burnley’s back line, who organizes his defence well, and unsurprisingly his performances have led to being called into the England squad.