Gutted he’s not here’: James Tarkowski admits he’s really disappointed Everton didn’t sign £8m player now
Everton centre-back James Tarkowski has admitted that he really misses his old central-defensive partner Conor Coady.
Speaking to The Times, Tarkowski said that he was great friends with Coady during his time at the club.
Tarkowski shared that Coady was very vocal in the side along with goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.
Tarkowski said: “I’m gutted he’s not here, me and him were good mates.”
And when asked if Coady was really that loud he said: “Yes! I can talk a fair bit but I can’t beat Conor and Jordan [Pickford].”
Everton chose not to take the option to make Coady’s loan move a permanent one from Wolverhampton Wanderers in the summer.
The England defender instead joined Championship side Leicester City for a fee of around £8m.
And although Tarkowski would be disappointed that Coady didn’t sign for the club, he wasn’t actually paired with him towards the season’s end.
Both Yerry Mina and Michael Keane looked to be preferred by manager Sean Dyche in Everton’s crucial run in.
Keane is now partnering Tarkowski at the start of this Premier League season.
Tarkowski says he’s gutted that Coady isn’t still an Everton player
Although Coady may have not been the answer for Dyche’s Everton, the side are having defensive issues.
A 4-0 loss to Aston Villa on Sunday was a performance unlike any Sean Dyche team.
Whether the side will target any defensive reinforcements before the window closes remains to be seen.
And if the side’s defeat to Fulham was unlucky, their trip to Villa certainly wasn’t.
Recent analysis suggests that Dyche’s current centre-back partnership of Tarkowski and Keane isn’t working for the side.
Not to say that a Tarkowski and Coady pairing would be doing better at Everton, but Dyche may not want to settle on his duo just yet.
Everton’s win rate with Keane and Tarkowski hasn’t been too impressive over the last year.
Whether it’s signings or changes, there’s clearly still a lot to be done at Everton.
