Following Burnley’s relegation from the Premier League at the end of the 2021/22 season, it saw the club lose quite a few players including the likes of Nick Pope, Nathan Collins and a few others. That also included both James Tarkowski and Ben Mee with the veteran defenders leaving on free-transfers after their contract with the Clarets expired. But while Mee signed for Brentford, Tarkowski signed for Everton in a move that stunned a few fans.

“The manager (when asked why he signed for Everton). He was a big factor. I wanted it done early. I didn’t want to sit around waiting all summer. I wanted to be decisive. As soon as I spoke to the manager, I made up my mind. He knew me as a player, my strengths and my character. He thought I would work well here,” Tarkowski told the Guardian.

The Toffees have endured a torrid start to the new season with them winless after five games although they’ve drawn the last three fixtures in the league. Yet with a Merseyside derby next on their dance card, it has many believing that the derby could be feisty and a battle between the two. But Tarkowski confessed that it will “be feisty” although he asserted that the team are “not here just to fight” the Reds. 

“Any derby is going to be feisty, especially a Merseyside derby, but we are not here just to fight people. We need to show that side of our game and our spirit but also we have a lot of talent in our squad. Just look at some of the goals we have scored already and some of the play we have shown. We are still building on that, we are still working on that and finding our confidence with it. We have shown great grit so far as well as talent and both sides of our game will be required at the weekend,” he added.