West Ham second-favourites to sign PL defender as CB search continues

The bookmakers still have West Ham down as one of the front runners for James Tarkowski’s signature.

David Moyes has been in search for another centre-back this summer, having allowed Fabian Balbuena to leave on a free transfer at the end of his contract earlier this summer.

It means Moyes only has Angelo Ogbonna, Issa Diop and Craig Dawson available as first-team central defenders, meaning another addition before the window closes is a priority.

West Ham had a £30m bid for the 28-year-old rejected last summer and there have been very few reports that the club remains interested in bringing the Burnley defender to east London a year on.

But the bookmakers still believe there’s a chance the Hammers could swoop for him before the end of the month, placing them at 11/2 second-favourites to capture him.

Leicester are the favourites (7/2) and are definitely the most likely to sign the Englishman, having lost Wesley Fofana to a broken leg last week. Brendan Rodgers is expected to make a move for a least one centre-back in the coming weeks to help plug the gap left by Fofana’s freak injury.