Alex McLeish

Thu 9 June 2022 11:25, UK

Alex McLeish has claimed Newcastle United could have “usurped” Everton in the hunt to sign James Tarkowski on a free transfer this summer.

Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, the former Scotland manager suggested the Toffees were the only club to make a “real, 100 per cent” offer to the 29-year-old.

An Everton source told Football Insider on Wednesday (8 June) that Tarkowski has accepted the club’s contract offer and was set to undergo a medical tp finalise the move.

Newcastle and West Ham were among the Burnley star’s suitors this summer.

This site revealed last month (23 May) that Everton had offered Tarkowski a deal worth £120,000-a-week to try win the race for his capture.

However, other clubs may not have been as keen in signing the defender as the Toffees, according to McLeish.

McLeish told Football Insider’s Russell Edge: “He seems a very capable player. You don’t really want a relegation on your CV. At the same time, you’re playing with 20-odd guys during the season.

“That would be the only black spot that would probably being on his CV. It doesn’t stop anyone coming in and signing him on a free. What I’ve seen of Tarkowski, he looks a very, very capable player.

“He will be thinking he has won a watch, staying in the Premier League, with his contract coming up at the right time. It has worked out in a good way for him, not in a good way for his former club.

“Is it a statement of Everton moving forward? I don’t really know. Maybe there wasn’t the interest in him from those other clubs as there was from Everton.

“Maybe they were humming and hawing, you just don’t know what is going on in the background. Everton have probably come with the real, 100 per cent offer for the player. I would feel it would be that kind of setup, the way that it has happened.

“If Newcastle had really wanted him, I think they would have usurped Everton.”

In other news, pundit claims Newcastle United have big transfer ‘problem’ after Nathan Ake update.