Thanks to a Dominic Calvert-Lewin diving header in May, James Tarkowski gets to experience the passion and ferocity of a Merseyside derby four months on. It was a goal that preserved Everton’s top-flight status for a 69th year and, ultimately, inflicted a wound on their first summer signing that will not heal.
“It will never leave me. Never,” says the defender of Burnley’s relegation last season. “I was super proud to play for that club and I wanted to leave on a high – and staying in the league would have been a high. It was so disappointing that I couldn’t.
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“I’m not someone who has ever got super low or super high with football, I have always tried to stay level-headed with everything. But for days after [being relegated] I was really down. I was disappointed and, really, I still am to this day. It has a big impact on the people within the club and it isn’t nice. I’m just glad to see they have reacted well this summer and I hope they will be back in this league again soon.”
Tarkowski was leaving Turf Moor regardless of Burnley’s status having reached the end of his contract. As a free agent with two England caps and the experience of 194 Premier League games, the 29-year-old attracted widespread interest but was set on Everton after one conversation. Whatever Frank Lampard said has paid immediate dividends with Tarkowski’s authority, strength and quality on the ball improving his defence.
Why Everton? “The manager. He was a big factor,” replies the Manchester-born centre-half. “I wanted it done early. I didn’t want to sit around waiting all summer. I wanted to be decisive. As soon as I spoke to the manager, I made up my mind. He knew me as a player, my strengths and my character. He thought I would work well here.
View image in fullscreenJames Tarkowski, then of Burnley, tussles with Saïd Benrahama of West Ham in December 2021. Photograph: Craig Brough/Reuters
“I know the size of the club, being from the north-west. Coming here it feels even bigger than I thought. After last year and the relegation I felt I needed a reset. I saw the talent in the squad and felt something special could be built. That [another relegation struggle] never crossed my mind. I understand the size of this club and where it should be and where it needs to be. I want to be part of that and we’re looking up the table, not down.”
Everton are without a win in the Premier League this season, however, and have not beaten Liverpool at Goodison Park since 2010, when Roy Hodgson was opposition manager. Darwin Núñez is available for Liverpool again having served a three-match ban for head-butting Crystal Palace’s Joachim Andersen and showing defenders throughout the land that he can rise to the bait. Tarkowski says the topic has been discussed with Conor Coady, who will also be making his Merseyside derby debut, albeit not in the colours he would have imagined as a boy, but believes the Uruguay international will not repeat his mistake.
“I think more than anything he is going to be switched on for the weekend,” Tarkowski says. “He knows with the derby coming, if he’s playing, he is going to be expecting people right on him and I am sure his manager will be in his ear making sure he is switched on. Everyone has moments in their career, especially at a younger age, when you lose your head for a minute but you learn from your experiences and I am sure he will.
“I’m not going to go around and be his best mate and high-five him, but I expect him to be switched right on. You’ve got to control yourself and that includes us. We want to go and show passion and put a foot in and get around them but it needs to be done in a controlled manner because we know you can get booked and sent off on days like this.
“Any derby is going to be feisty, especially a Merseyside derby, but we are not here just to fight people. We need to show that side of our game and our spirit but also we have a lot of talent in our squad. Just look at some of the goals we have scored already and some of the play we have shown. We are still building on that, we are still working on that and finding our confidence with it. We have shown great grit so far as well as talent and both sides of our game will be required at the weekend.”
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Tarkowski made an immediate impression on the Everton dressing room too, bringing the leadership skills and vocal presence that had been lacking. They are characteristics that Lampard has tried to introduce with several of his eight summer signings.
“It is something I have developed over the years and become more confident with,” he says. “It is something I wanted to build on when I came here. I knew it was a younger group with a bit of inexperience. I think there are a few more voices around now, especially with Coady! No one gets a word in with Conor. A few more voices will help this group.
View image in fullscreenJames Tarkowski during his league debut for Everton against Chelsea at Goodison Park on 6 August. Photograph: Michael Regan/Getty Images
“The pressure of relegation is really, really difficult to play under. I have played under it a couple of times myself and you can never play to your full capacity at all times with that kind of pressure on you. The lads showed there is enough quality in the squad and they kept us in the league. Now this is a season about building and progressing. It is still a young group.
“We are still learning but we have shown in the first few games and at the end of last season that there is more than enough here for us to have a good season. You will see the full potential of this group.”
