Everton and Leicester join race for James Tarkowski | OneFootball

Everton and Leicester City have joined the race to sign Burnley centre-back James Tarkowski, 90min understands.

The 29-year-old is out of contract at Turf Moor this summer and will be available to sign on a free transfer at the end of June.

The likelihood of Tarkowski leaving the Clarets increased even more on Sunday as Burnley suffered relegation from the Premier League, losing 2-1 at home to Newcastle United while Leeds United beat Brentford by the same scoreline.

Newcastle are also monitoring Tarkowski and are keen to boost their options in central defence, having already signed Dan Burn from Brighton in January while tying Fabian Schar down to a new contract.

But a source with knowledge of the situation has confirmed to 90min that Everton and Leicester are also working hard to sign Tarkowski, with the race for his signature set to hot up over the next few weeks.

Everton are particularly in need of defensive reinforcements after only confirming their Premier League safety with a 3-2 comeback win over Crystal Palace in the penultimate game of the season. The Toffees need to sell players this summer to ease their FFP worries and, as revealed by 90min, either one of Dominic Calvert-Lewin or Richarlison are likely to be sold.

90min also understands that centre-back Michael Keane is among a host of squad players Everton are looking to move on, making the prospect of signing Tarkowski for free an even more appealing option.

Aston Villa have also been credited with an interest in Tarkowski, who has played over 200 games for Burnley since arriving at the club in 2016 from Brentford. A separate source has confirmed to 90min that Steven Gerrard's side are keeping track of the defender.