An update has emerged on Burnley defender James Tarkowski, regarding Tottenham's interest in his services... 

What's the talk?

According to 90Min, Tottenham have identified Burnley central defender James Tarkowski as a potential target this summer. The report names Tarkowski alongside Conor Coady and Joachim Andersen in terms of centre-backs who the club are currently looking at.

The Telegraph reported last month that Tottenham's Premier League rivals Wolves and West Ham are both interested in the former Brentford man. He has 12 months left on his contract at Turf Moor.

Forget Toby

As great a servant as Toby Alderweireld has been for Tottenham, it is time to forget about him and move on to Tarkowski. The Sun have reported that the Belgian defender wants to leave Spurs and that the club are willing to facilitate a move if an interested side makes a fair offer for his services, whilst Fabio Paratici is also open to bids for Davinson Sanchez and Eric Dier.

We are not saying that Tottenham should be selling Alderweireld or that it would be a good decision by the club if they did, but bringing in Tarkowski would certainly help ease the blow. The ex-Atletico Madrid man has been a mainstay at the heart of Spurs' defence for six seasons since his transfer to the club in 2015, averaging a WhoScored rating of 6.68 or higher in every campaign - managing a score of 7.00 or higher in two of those Premier League seasons.

This shows the standard of player Paratici will need to bring in to cope with the loss of Alderweireld if it goes through. Tarkowski could be exactly the player Santo requires to freshen up his defence and add some extra steel to the backline. Burnley boss Sean Dyche labelled him as outstanding earlier in his Claret days.

He told the Lancashire Telegraph:

"Tarky's been absolutely outstanding."

The £22.5m-rated beast has a fantastic record at Premier League level for Burnley. In the past four top-flight campaigns, Tarkowski has registered WhoScored ratings of 7.22, 7.11, 7.19 and 7.02 respectively, highlighting how incredibly consistent he has been for the midtable side. The 28-year-old has also averaged over 4.5 aerial battles won and more than one block per game across those four seasons, which shows how strong he has been defensively for the Clarets.

Therefore, he could be the defensive pillar Santo needs in North London next term. He has proven at Burnley that he is good enough to be a top-class defender at this level and that his arrival could allow Tottenham fans to forget about Alderweireld, should he leave.

Nuno Santo will need new recruits in defence should the likes of Alderweireld, Dier and Sanchez depart. Getting Tarkowski in would be a great place to start.

AND in other news, Spurs submit official bid to land 16 G/A dynamo, he's an upgrade on Steven Bergwijn...