Out of contract Burnley defender James Tarkowski is reportedly a target for Leeds United this summer as the Whites look to strengthen their defence.
Tarkowski opted to run down his contract with Burnley who were relegated on the final day of the Premier League season after Leeds beat Brentford 2-1 to stay up.
The 29-year-old defender has been a mainstay at Turf Moor during their time in the Premier League, even making his England debut back in 2018 following an impressive campaign for Burnley.
Despite being relegated, Tarkowski is thought to have plenty of suitors, with Leeds said to be interested. He is now a free agent and will have his pick of clubs in this summer.
LeedsLive takes a look at the numbers which could reveal why the Whites are keen on signing the England international.
Clearances
Firstly per FBRef, Tarkowski ranks first in the Premier League for the number of clearances made with 216. Second on that list is former Leeds defender Pontus Jansson, who made 208 this season.
In the modern age of football, a defender must now be able to play out from the back, allowing teams to build. However, the most important part of their game remains defending. While being able to play the ball out of defence is a positive, being able to defend is what they're paid to do. Tarkowski is a solid Premier League defender.
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While his defensive numbers are more than likely inflated due to Burnley's tendency to sit deep which invites teams to attack them, Tarkowski was still a dependable presence at the back for the Clarets despite their relegation.
Leeds had one of the leakiest defences in the Premier League this season, conceding a whopping 79 goals. Only Norwich conceded more.
Conversely, despite being relegated, Burnley only conceded 54 which ranks 11th in the Premier League for goals conceded.
If anything, Tarkowski would probably walk into Leeds' starting line-up alongside Spanish international Diego Llorente, who could function as the more expansive centre-half in the Whites backline.
Blocks
Similar to clearances, FBRef ranks Tarkowski highly again. The Burnley defender made the second most blocks in the Premier League behind team mate and former Leeds left-back Charlie Taylor. Tarkowski made 92 blocks this season, clearly showing he is not afraid to put his body on the line for the cause.
The end of Leeds' Premier League campaign highlighted the need for leaders in the Whites dressing room. First team players Luke Ayling and Dan James were both sent off stupidly in games against Arsenal and Chelsea late on in the season, when Leeds could not afford to be weakened.
Tarkowski could prove to be a smart addition at the back for Leeds. While Leeds' defensive number's do improve when captain Liam Cooper starts, the 30-year-old made just 20 appearances this season due to injury.
Having missed nearly half the season, Leeds need to strengthen their defence this summer. They can not afford to leave things to chance next season which is why Tarkowski could be an excellent signing for them.
Aerials duels won
Death, taxes and Leeds United conceding from set-pieces are three constants in life.
Last season saw the Whites concede a horrendous number of goals and chances from set-pieces. Through March, following Marcelo Bielsa's sacking, they had conceded 13 goals from set-pieces.
With numbers that bad, Leeds must improve their defending from set-pieces. Thankfully, that's an area Tarkowski would help improve massively. The 29-year-old won a whopping 171 aerial duels last season per FBRef, the most of any defender in the Premier League last season.
Only former Leeds striker Chris Wood won more with 260. The next closest defender to Tarkowski was Brentford's Ethan Pinnock with 151.
Additionally, Tarkowski's presence at the back could help improve Diego Llorente, who recently made the WhoScored.com’s stats-based Premier League Ineffective XI. The Spaniard was included in the XI due to his aerial duel success rate, which the lowest in the division with 43.9% of his duels won.
