West Ham United appear to have suffered a blow in their bid to bring James Tarkowski to the London Stadium in the January transfer window.

What's the talk?

That's according to a recent claim made by Claret & Hugh, with the West Ham insider revealing that, despite the Burnley centre-back being one of David Moyes' priority transfer targets in the winter market, the 29-year-old defender could end up being too expensive for the Hammers next month.

The report goes on to state that, despite the fact the England international's current contract is set to expire at the end of the season, Sean Dyche's side are demanding £20m in order to part with Tarkowski in January - a fee the West Ham board may be reluctant to cough up.

Moyes will be fuming

With Moyes' first-choice centre-back pairing Kurt Zouma and Angelo Ogbonna both being sidelined for a considerable amount of time due to serious injuries, the heart of his defence is undoubtedly an area of the pitch in which the 58-year-old West Ham manager must strengthen this January if he is to have any hope of securing a top-four finish in the league this season.

And, considering just how impressive Tarkowski has been in a struggling Burnley side this season, it is easy to see why Moyes is so keen on a deal to bring the 29-year-old centre-back to the London Stadium next month.

Indeed, over his 14 Premier League appearances this term, the £19.8m-rated defender has helped his side keep two clean sheets, scored one goal and has provided his teammates with two assists, as well as making an average of 1.6 interceptions, 1.6 tackles, 5.1 clearances and winning a whopping 7.4 duels per game.

These returns have seen the £50k-per-week man average a rather extraordinary SofaScore match rating of 7.23, ranking him not only as Burnley's second-best performer in the top flight, but also as the joint 23rd-best player in the entirety of the division.

As such, it is clear for all to see that Tarkowski would be well worth the £20m Dyche's side are demanding for the centre-back this winter, and why Moyes will undoubtedly be fuming that his club look as if they will not cough up for the defender next month.

In other news: GSB could land Moyes the next Ibrahimovic with WHU swoop for "incredible" £82k-p/w gem