Newcastle United transfer news: Manchester City have agreed a deal to sign Burnley’s James Trafford.

Trafford has long been linked with a move to the north east with the Burnley man all-but set to join Newcastle United last summer, only for a deal to be pulled at the last minute. The Magpies have maintained an interest in the 22-year-old ever since then and he was regarded as their first-choice option to strengthen their goalkeeping options.

However, Newcastle United and Burnley remained apart in their valuation of Trafford and the Magpies somewhat cooled their interest in him as the summer window moved on. That allowed reports of a potential return to Manchester City for Trafford surface and gained traction. The Citizens reportedly view Trafford as a replacement for either Ederson or Stefan Ortega if they are sold this summer.

City’s initial interest posed a severe threat to Newcastle United’s hopes of sealing a deal for Trafford this summer, although the Magpies retained hope of concluding a deal whilst Ederson and Ortega remain at the Etihad Stadium. The situation was further complicated by a host of transfer clauses City held following Trafford’s sale from them to Turf Moor two years ago.

The Citizens were entitled to 20% of Trafford’s future fee, had a buy back clause worth a reported £40m and have the option to match any offer for Trafford that is accepted by the Clarets. Those clauses left the Magpies powerless in negotiations if City decided to step up their interest in Trafford - and that is exactly what has happened.

Fabrizio Romano’s James Trafford update

As Newcastle United watched on, City swooped for Trafford and have concluded a deal to sign the Burnley man. Trafford will now return to the Etihad Stadium and likely act as Pep Guardiola’s long-term number one.

Taking to X to break the news, Fabrizio Romano wrote: ‘EXCLUSIVE: Manchester City agree deal to sign James Trafford as new goalkeeper, here we go! Deal in place with Burnley under value of £40m buy back clause. Trafford said yes to Man City as Pep Guardiola wanted him. Newcastle are also informed about Trafford’s decision.’

Trafford’s return to Manchester means that Newcastle United will now begin another search for a goalkeeper. Lille goalkeeper Lucas Chevalier has briefly been linked with a move to Tyneside, although that is not viewed as a likely transfer this summer for a whole host of reasons.

Nick Pope is the club’s first-choice whilst Martin Dubravka will act as his deputy this season. Both Pope and Dubravka featured last season, with Pop’s injury in December offering his teammate the opportunity to start on a regular basis. During that time, Newcastle United won nine-straight matches in all competitions with Dubravka collecting six clean sheets in that time.

Both players featured at Celtic Park last weekend, with Pope playing from the off before being replaced by the Slovakian at half-time. Dubravka did not initially join the team on the plane to Asia this week, but he is expected to fly out next week in time for their clash with the K-League XI on Wednesday in South Korea.