James Trafford to trigger Man City exit as Pep Guardiola squad shapes up

• Sport
• Football
• James Trafford

Manchester City goalkeeper James Trafford is coming into Pep Guardiola's squad and that means a departure is necessary

Manchester City are changing two of their three goalkeepers from last season

Stefan Ortega is expected to leave Manchester City following James Trafford's arrival at the club. The former City youngster re-joins with eyes on the No.1 spot.

That position is still held by Ederson, who will go into a ninth season as Pep Guardiola's preferred goalkeeper despite further speculation over the summer that he could leave again. Having nearly gone to the Saudi Pro League last summer, there was more interest this year and Galatasaray have also pushed to sign the Brazilian but City are determined to keep him and look to be winning that battle.

Ederson was all smiles as he returned for training on Monday, having featured prominently at the Club World Cup. Trafford will provide fresh competition, with the 22-year-old setting his sights on becoming Guardiola's choice after breaking records for Burnley to help them back up to the Premier League.

Trafford was close to joining Newcastle, only for City to invoke their buyback clause that was inserted into the keeper's move to Turf Moor and tempt him back to the Etihad in a £27m deal. That is City's sixth incoming of the summer and takes their spending past the £300m mark for the year.

Most of the time remaining in the window will be focused on exits, and Ortega will be one of the departures. The No.2 has had some memorable moments in his three years at the club but has not been able to force Ederson out and with Trafford now arriving as fresh competition the German will head for a new challenge; there has already been interest from Premier League and Bundesliga clubs.

Marcus Bettinelli has already replaced Scott Carson as the club's third choice goalkeeper, with the Chelsea goalkeeper joining in time for the Club World Cup after the decision was taken not to renew Carson's contract. That means that the Blues will enter the new season without two of their three goalkeepers from last season in what has been a summer of change across the squad.

Further exits are required to trim down Guardiola's squad. Permanent exits are sought for James McAtee and Jack Grealish while a number of players will be sent on loan for the campaign to allow them more regular game time.

---

Here at the Manchester Evening News, we’re dedicated to bringing you the best Manchester City coverage and analysis.

Make sure you don’t miss out on the latest City news by joining our free WhatsApp group. You can get all the breaking news and best analysis sent straight to your phone by clicking here to subscribe.

You can also subscribe to our free newsletter service. Click here to be sent all the day’s biggest stories.

And finally, if you’d rather listen to our expert analysis then make sure to check out our Talking City podcast. Our shows are available on all podcast platforms, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and you can also watch along on YouTube.