The hunt calms down

James Tarkowski: clamour for his services has calmed

THE hunt for James Tarkowski appears to have eased off.

Athletic manager Lee Johnson says there have been no concrete offers made for the talented centre-back.

Still, if the 21 year old doesn’t end up departing Boundary Park in this transfer window, as was widely predicted by those inside and outside the club, then at least Johnson will get the chance to work with him further on the training ground.

Even with his occasional slips, Tarkowski’s progression this term has been enormous. But for all the forward runs that catch the eye, he still needs to add more of the sort of determined defensive efforts with Jonathan Grounds that helped earn his team a rare clean sheet against Stevenage.

Should he improve further in the second half of the season, with another year on his contract Tarkowski should still hold considerable value as an asset if Athletic choose to cash in next summer.