Tarkowski has the World (Cup) at his feet...
NOT SO LONG AGO HE WAS SHOPPING IN CHADDERTON MORRISONS WITH HIS MUM, NOW HE’S IN ENGLAND SQUAD
MANCUNIAN football star James Tarkowski could be on his way to the World Cup after being called up for his England debut.
Not so long ago Tarkowski, 25, was playing in League One for Oldham, living with his mum and sister in New Moston and shopping with the family at Morrisons in Chadderton.
Now, after impressing in defence for Burnley, he has been named in the Three Lions squad for England’s friendlies against Holland and Italy next weekend.
It’s a remarkable step up for the modest player, who was born and raised in New Moston, on Manchester’s border with Oldham.
His family name is Polish - his granddad left Poland for England after the Second World War.
A former Failsworth High School pupil, Tarkowski made his name at Oldham Athletic where he started in the youth ranks. He made his firstteam debut in 2011, coming on as a substitute in a 2-1 win over Brentford.
Despite being a professional player, he told the M.E.N. in 2013 that he was still living with his mum and sister in Moston and could regularly be seen out shopping with them.
He earned rave reviews during that time, and was even linked with a move to the club he supported as a boy, Manchester United.
At the time he said: “At the moment I am not looking further than Oldham.”
In 2014 he moved to Brentford, joining Burnley a couple of years later.
Initially he struggled to break into the first-team, but after colleague Michael Keane moved to Everton, he got the chance to shine in the top-flight.
Tarkowski has been a regular for Burnley this season, making 25 starts and keeping 11 clean sheets as they have defied expectations in the Premier League. His rise in form has coincided with struggles for established England defenders - who have been axed from the squad to make way for Tarkowski and his fellow newcomers. Next week’s fixtures are the penultimate set of warm-up games before the tournament starts in June. With many of the current England defenders out of their club sides, or struggling for form, his call-up suggests England boss Gareth Southgate sees him as a real option. But Tarkowski knows it is by no means certain. “It’s a fantastic opportunity but that is all it is at the moment”, he said. The centre-back could end up joining fellow Mancs Marcus Rashford and Kieran Tripper on the plane to Russia. Former Fletcher Moss Rangers youth players Jesse Lingard and Danny Welbeck are also in Southgate’s latest squad.