In a recent interview with talkSPORT, as mentioned by the Burnley Express, Sean Dyche has revealed that he finds it ‘bizarre’ to see one of his first-team stars, James Tarkowski be linked with a loan move to Liverpool during this January transfer window. In an earlier report, the Sun claimed that the Reds are looking to make a surprise loan offer for the Clarets centre-back this month, but the Lancashire outfit are reluctant to sell him unless they receive a fee of £50m for their prized asset.
However, those rumours were put to bed recently when Dyche said, “There are a lot of rumours out there, and not much fact,”
“The most amazing one is the Tarky one. That is just bizarre.
“It’s that time of the season, and everyone is looking for a snippet, but there is a lot of phantom stuff out there.”
This follows after Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp cooled speculation regarding the arrival of a new centre-back at Merseyside and said, “The only country that asks a question like this is England. Everything is sorted with buying players.
“We have four centre-halves. Three, maybe, two-and-a-half are injured so we’ll have to try and come through in the moment.
“We need them back but you cannot buy a fifth centre-half and say so you play two weeks and after that the others come in.”
It is clear from both managers’ recent comments that it is a story generated to fill the papers. However, there is no denying the fact that signing Tarkowski on a loan deal would have been a shrewd move for the Reds as they aim to cope with a mini injury crisis in central defence with Virgil Van Dijk currently the only fit centre-back available for selection at Anfield.
On the positive side, both Joel Matip and Joe Gomez are nearing a return as they continue to recover from their respective injuries. In the meantime, Fabinho might operate as a makeshift central defender when the Reds clash heads with Brighton and Hove Albion away at the Amex Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The Merseyside giants are currently leading the Premier League standings with a healthy four-point gap separating them from second-placed, Manchester City heading into this weekend. Hence, bringing in a new defender on a temporary basis would have helped Klopp cope with injuries in the future as the Reds look to win every game between now and the end of this campaign.
Tarkowski’s vast experience in English football along with his terrific defensive talents would have made him a perfect rotation option in Klopp’s squad but it now seems like the two clubs are not willing to go ahead with the deal this month. All in all, we don’t think Klopp even thought of making this deal so not a blow for the Reds in any case.
