Newcastle United watch on after agreeing personal terms with £27m star backfires - departure 'inevitable'
James Trafford’s departure from Manchester City ‘looks inevitable,’ just months after re-signing for the club ahead of Newcastle United.
James Trafford could look to leave Manchester City just months after joining the club from Burnley for £27million, according to Manchester Evening News.
Trafford rejoined Man City from Burnley in the summer after spending two seasons at Turf Moor. The City academy graduate had been tracked by Newcastle United for two years and had even agreed personal terms with the club.
But a deal failed to materialise as The Magpies were unable to agree a fee with Burnley for the promising goalkeeper for a second successive summer transfer window. That handed Manchester City, bolstered by their various transfer clauses, to swoop in and sign Trafford.
The 23-year-old started Man City’s opening three Premier League matches and looked primed to be the club’s new No. 1 for years to come. But those ambitions were dashed with the arrival of the established Champions League winning goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma from Paris Saint-Germain.
Donnarumma is 26, three years older than Trafford, but still young in goalkeeper terms and already has a wealth of experience at the elite level. The Italian made over 400 appearances for AC Milan and PSG before joining Man City.
Very good but far from ideal competition for Trafford who had been hoping to keep his place in the side and establish himself as City’s new No. 1 goalkeeper.
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Pep Guardiola backs James Trafford to deliver for England
Manchester City head coach Pep Guardiola backed Trafford to replace Everton’s Jordan Pickford as England No. 1 in the future. This is despite the 23-year-old having yet to earn a senior cap for his country and currently not playing regularly at club level.
“We have an incredible 'keeper,” Guardiola said about Trafford. “For England, sooner or later, he will be the one.”
"We are delighted with his behaviour in training. Gigi learns from James and James learns from Gigi. The goalkeepers are always connected, they train. They learn like I learn from the players and hopefully the players learn from the staff.
"One of the reasons I want to go through in this competition is because they all have to be ready just in case they are needed in the Premier League or Champions League."
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James Trafford Manchester City departure ‘inevitable’
A report from Manchester Evening News has claimed Trafford leaving Man City ‘already looks inevitable’ as his ambitions of playing regular first-team football and, in turn, becoming an England regular, aren’t going to be met at the Etihad Stadium.
And heading into a World Cup year, Trafford may even push to leave the club on loan as early as January.
While Newcastle pushed to sign Trafford for two years, they ultimately moved on in the summer by signing Aaron Ramsdale on loan from Southampton instead.