Brentford to bank £500,000 bonus for James Tarkowski England debut

Brentford will net a £500,000 windfall if James Tarkowski makes his England debut against Holland or Italy this month and will double that if he plays at the World Cup.

Tarkowski left Brentford for Burnley in 2016 in a £3million deal that included an additional payment once the defender makes an international appearance.

On Thursday, the 25-year-old was called up to the England squad for the first time and Brentford are due £500,000 if he plays in a non-competitive match, with the Holland match in Amsterdam a week on Friday being his first chance followed by the game against Italy at Wembley four days later.

The Championship club will receive a further £500,000 if Tarkowski makes a competitive appearance for England in a major tournament or a qualifier.

Tarkowski is pushing for a place in the England squad for the World Cup this summer after an impressive season at Burnley, giving Brentford hope that they could net the £1million bonus.

The centre-half was held in high regard by the Championship club and the news of his call-up came as little surprise to many at Griffin Park.

Tarkowski joined Brentford from Oldham in January 2014 and helped the Bees win promotion from League One that season under Mark Warburton.

His stock continued to rise the following campaign when he was a mainstay in the Brentford side which finished fifth in the Championship and was beaten by Middlesbrough in the play-offs.

Tarkowski played 74 games for Brentford before he left to join Burnley in January 2016 under a cloud following a month-long transfer saga when he was fined after he made himself unavailable for a game against Sean Dyche’s side.

He went up to the Premier League with Burnley and has established himself in a defence that has conceded just 26 goals in the top flight this season.

Tarkowski, who was called up along with Burnley team-mate and former Charlton goalkeeper Nick Pope, said: “You work hard all your life and all your career and probably for me and Nick, five or six years ago when you are down in League One, you probably do not expect to get to this level of the game.”

Swansea defender Alfie Mawson, who came through the Brentford youth set-up, was also called up by England.