Everton may have failed to keep a clean sheet in any of their five opening Premier League games of the season, but Frank Lampard’s side have not conceded a goal in either of their subsequent two matches.
One man in the squad at Goodison Park who has played a very prominent part for the Toffees and who we feel has done enough to be considered for a place in Gareth Southgate’s England squad for the upcoming World Cup is James Tarkowski.
The defender joined Everton on a free transfer from Burnley in July and has since gone on to play every minute of league action for the Merseyside club, making him one of just three players to do so at this stage of the season.
In that time, the 29-year-old has made more blocks (18) and clearances (58) than any of his team-mates, along with racking up the second-highest number of successful tackles (nine) and interceptions (16) at the club, marking him out as a diligent, no-nonsense centre-back.
In addition to proving how solid he can be defensively, the Englishman has also shown how comfortable he is in possession, boasting the joint-second highest percentage of completed passes (83.7%) out of Everton players to attempt more than 100.
His overall performances in the league have earned the former Burnley colossus – who was picking up £50k-per-week at Turf Moor – a season rating of 7.1/10 from WhoScored, making him the highest-rated outfield player at Goodison Park
This shows how impressive the centre-back has been for Everton and why he deserves to be in the conversation and in Southgate’s thoughts for the England squad to travel to Qatar in a few weeks’ time.
Having previously been described as “unbelievable” by journalist Andy Jones, Tarkowski has the ability to be a useful squad member for England at the World Cup, especially if he continues his fine run of form for Everton over the coming weeks.
