Newcastle United target James Tarkowski wants to move to St James' Park during the January transfer window, The Telegraph's Luke Edwards says. 

The lowdown

The journalist reported as far back as 9 October that the Burnley defender was expected to become one of the first signings of the new regime. Tarkowski is valued at £19.8m by Transfermarkt but, significantly, his £50,000-per-week contract at Turf Moor expires at the end of the season.

Newcastle and Burnley are currently level on 11 points, with both sides in the Premier League relegation zone, although the Clarets have two games in hand.

The latest

In addition to his compatriot Kieran Trippier, Edwards has said that Tarkowski is keen to join the Magpies.

He tweeted: "I wouldn’t get Trippier printed on the back of any #nufc shirts just yet but this looks like a goodbye to me. As for Tarkowski, he’s not exactly playing his best games for Burnley at the moment. I’m told he also wants to come to #nufc but Burnley very reluctant to sell".

The verdict

It isn't all that surprising that Tarkowski would want to make the switch. While Burnley are in a marginally better position right now because of their games in hand, he could be looking at the trajectories of the respective clubs.

Sean Dyche's side flirted with relegation last season, ultimately finishing 17th, and they're hovering in dangerous territory at the moment. Newcastle, on the other hand, have recently become one of the richest clubs in world football and will hope to assemble a squad this month which can charge up the table.

If they do survive this time around, they can begin to think about establishing themselves as a top-half club in the next couple of seasons. Why wouldn't Tarkowski want to be part of that prospective revolution?

In other news, a journalist has revealed the latest on this Newcastle midfield target