West Ham United have tabled a £20-million bid for Burnley defender James Tarkowski, according to The Telegraph. 

The East Londoners have been struggling to bring in new players with a strict budget in light of the global recession. However, the controversial sale of Grady Diangana will give a welcome boost to David Moyes' transfer kitty. 

Diangana made a good impression on loan for West Bromwich Albion in the Championship but he was expected to make a challenge for a place in the West Ham team. Instead, he was permanently sold to the newly promoted outfit. 

Nonetheless, a £20-million offer for Tarkowski is blindingly ignorant but also rather ironic. The Clarets will no doubt scoff at the bid but shouldn't be so quick to condemn the low offer given that it is a tactic that they so often employ in the transfer market.

The Daily Mail reported that Burnley were looking to offer £4-million and Ben Gibson for the talented Joe Worrall. Given that Gibson's value has plummeted since his £15-million move to Turf Moor, such an offer was pretty derisory. It is symptomatic of a club that are often reluctant to adjust to the gradual price rises of the transfer market. 

Burnley chairman Mike Garlick will be holding out for something close to £50-million before he thinks about letting Tarkowski leave. The club don't need to sell and Tarkowski is touted as one of the division's better central defenders. 

Whether the player would want to leave is a mystery. Tarkowski turns 28 in November and will be aware that he is close to entering the next phase of his career. Some big decisions might have to be made. 

Standing still

West Ham is an attractive club to be at. They are a club with a heritage and anybody who plays there has the opportunity of living in London. 

On the pitch, however, a move to the Olympic Stadium would represent a bit of a sideways move for Tarkowski.

Moyes is an experienced manager who has steadied the ship. The future is steady for West Ham but their aspirations of competing for a European place seem be over.

Just like Sean Dyche, Moyes makes his teams difficult to beat with a lot of emphasis on shape. Motivations for making the move would not be based around current footballing ambitions. 

Of course, the move is a non-starter and West Ham will quickly learn that they have to get real if they genuinely want Tarkowski to arrive. Upon receiving that bid, Garlick would have a chuckle to himself. It's like looking in the mirror!