James Trafford has told Manchester City he does not want to spend another season as a back-up goalkeeper, turning a summer move into a real possibility and putting Newcastle United in front of the queue for his signature.
The 23-year-old is currently with Thomas Tuchel’s squad at their American training camp ahead of the World Cup finals, and the timing matters because Manchester City are expected to confirm Enzo Maresca as Pep Guardiola’s successor shortly. Trafford’s representatives have already told sporting director Hugo Viana that he does not want a repeat of last season, when he was left on the fringes despite starting both the League Cup final and the FA Cup final as City completed a domestic cup double.
Trafford returned to City from Burnley last summer in a £30million deal and initially believed he would get a genuine chance to establish himself as the club’s long-term No.1. That picture shifted when City were offered Gianluigi Donnarumma and accepted the chance to sign him, leaving Trafford facing another year behind one of the game’s elite goalkeepers if he stays.
Newcastle have not let go of their interest. They bid £30million for Trafford last summer and now are described as genuine and leading contenders for his signature, with the prospect of a first-choice role likely to appeal far more than another spell as City’s understudy. Tottenham Hotspur, Aston Villa and Chelsea have also been watching the situation, but Newcastle’s pursuit is the most advanced.
Manchester City still rate Trafford highly and are open to a sale if he presses for one, but they would want a profit on the fee they paid to bring him back from Burnley. Any buyer is likely to have to go beyond £40million, a figure that would turn this from a club decision into a test of how much the market believes in a goalkeeper who made his senior England debut against Uruguay in March and has already shown enough to start two finals for City. For Trafford, the next step now depends on whether a club will pay City’s price for the right to give him the role he wants.
