'Bullied' - Everton star called out by Leeds journalist after what happened at Hill Dickinson Stadium

James Tarkowski did not have his finest hour as Everton secured a 1-1 draw against Leeds United.

Tarkowski is usually a reliable presence at the back for the Blues, but his first-half showing at the Hill Dickinson Stadium was not up to par.

David Moyes‘ side were hoping to rise up the Premier League table, and move to seventh, just one point behind their arch-rivals, Liverpool.

However, they were forced to settle for a draw with Thierno Barry cancelling out James Justin’s opener, with the Toffees much improved in the second-half.

What has been said about James Tarkowski?

Tarkowski is often one of Everton’s best performers, but that was not the case against Daniel Farke’s side, in the first 45 minutes, anyway.

Yorkshire Evening Post journalist Graham Smyth urged the Blues star to get in the gym after he conceded a throw-in to Whites ace Brenden Aaronson in the 25th minute, who is not exactly known for his physicality.

Taking to X on 26 January, he said: “Aaronson bullies Tarkowski into conceding a throw by the corner flag. Get in the gym.”

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Everton need Tarkowski to step up

If David Moyes’ side are to have any chance of qualifying for a place in European competition, they need to win as many games as possible until the end of the campaign.

They need Tarkowski to step up and prove that he is one of the most underrated players in the top-flight, and to be fair to the former Burnley man, he was better in the second half

Of course, it was not just his fault that his side were bad in the opening half, but he is a leader at the back, so if his display is underwhelming, then the rest of the team are unlikely to perform well.

They cannot afford to have him perform as he did against the newly-promoted side on a regular basis, as it will hamper their plans massively, if he only comes to life in the second half every time.

Smyth is having a joke at Tarkowski’s expense, but it could be trouble if he continues to play the way he did before the break for the remainder of the season.

Luckily for the Blues, he has been top-quality so far in this campaign and turned it around, and that would seem to suggest that it was a blip, rather than a trend.

Perhaps, the bigger issue is the fact that the Toffees struggle to score goals, and there have been no reinforcements to help out with that so far in the winter transfer window.

Stay up to date this winter with our Everton transfer tracker. Click to see every done deal at Hill Dickinson, plus expert reaction from our team of writers.

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