Lampard is now battling Newcastle and West Ham to sign the ‘top player’ for free

Everton are looking to join the race for Burnley defender James Tarkowski this summer as Frank Lampard seeks more leadership.

This emerges from a report by iNewswho claim Lampard believes Everton need more leaders in their squad.

Tarkowski is seen as a player who can provide what Lampard believes Everton lack and can be seen as a bargain.

The 29-year-old is out of contract with Burnley this summer and has shown no intention of extending his stay at Turf Moor.

Premier League clubs will understandably queue up to try to sign Tarkowski on a free transfer.

Newcastle United were expected to lead the race in January but could not push through a deal.

West Ham have wanted Tarkowski for two years and are positioning themselves for a free transfer after 90MIn.

Everton are now joining the race and are hoping Manchester-born Tarkowski is keen on staying in the North West.

Tarkowski is a proven Premier League defender with nearly 200 top-flight appearances and could help bolster Everton’s defence.

That’s what Everton thought when they signed another Burnley defender, Michael Keane, in the summer of 2017, but it didn’t quite work out.

Hailed as a “top player” by Sean DycheTarkowski certainly has the defensive leadership qualities Lampard is looking for.

Unfortunately for Lampard, however, Everton are a little unlikely to win this race.

The Toffees are in pretty bad shape on and off the field and may not be able to sell Tarkowski that this is the right move for him now.

Newcastle have money to spare and West Ham are in the Europa League semi-finals; From today’s perspective, both seem more attractive than Everton.

Everton might as well try to secure Tarkowski but a deal is hard to imagine.

In other news, Tottenham could end Man Utd’s dream of signing a £70m world-class player