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Matthew Lowton warns England not to lose James Tarkowski to Poland

Matthew Lowton has urged England not to risk losing out on James Tarkowski to Poland.

The 25-year-old defender has been hugely impressive since coming into the Burnley side this season and is eligible for both England and Poland thanks to his Polish grandfather.

Right-back Lowton has seen teammates Michael Keane, now with Everton, Tom Heaton and Jack Cork force their way into the England set-up and sees no reason why Tarkowski should not join them.

He said: "You saw it with Keano last year. He played well week in, week out in the Premier League so there's no reason why England shouldn't at least be looking at him.

"We're a lot higher in the league this season so it shows, not just Tarky, but as a group we're doing a lot better. You've seen with Corky getting his call-up as well. He [Tarkowski] has been fantastic all season since he came in.''

Lowton thinks Tarkowski would find it hard to turn down overtures from Poland should they come calling before this summer's World Cup.

"A young English centre-half, it would be tough for us to lose him to somebody else,'' said Lowton.

"The big thing for Tarky is there's a World Cup so, if Poland come and try to tap him up, it's going to be difficult for him [to say no] because everyone wants to play in these sorts of tournaments. It's up to us to approach him.''