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James Trafford is set to re-join Manchester City in the coming days having excelled at Burnley.
Sean McCormick Football Content Editor 16:00, 26 Jul 2025
Sean McCormick is a content editor across our North East and Yorkshire football clubs. He was previously a Newcastle United reporter, a trends writer covering both the Magpies and Sunderland AFC, as well as a football content editor at the Manchester Evening News. He also writes about darts and boxing. He joined us in 2016.
Manchester City are on the verge of making their sixth signing of the summer with goalkeeper James Trafford set to re-join the club from Burnley.
Trafford left City two seasons ago to join the Clarets in a £14million deal and he is now set to move back to the Etihad after City moved to steal a march over Newcastle to seal the deal.
The Magpies offered £27million to sign the 22-year-old but City had inserted a matching clause in his transfer to Burnley where if a bid was made for Trafford, they had to contact City to see whether they wanted to match it.
City have done just that and Trafford is set to sign a five-year contract at the Etihad Stadium with the option of an additional year.
Trafford helped Burnley win promotion back to the Premier League last season, having struggled at times in the Premier League during his first season at Turf Moor which ultimately ended with their relegation to the Championship.
Having lost his place at the end of that season, Clarets boss Scott Parker had an honest conversation with Trafford at the start of last season over the direction his career was heading in.
Having won the European Under-21 Championship with England the previous summer, Trafford was hailed as a future Three Lions No.1 and there were fears he would not make good on that potential.
But he responded by becoming the best goalkeeper in the second tier, which earned him a call-up to the England squad and earned him admiring glances from top Premier League sides.
"There's no denying at the beginning of the season, the work we all had to do with Traff' and where he was, there was a lot of work," Parker told BBC Radio Lancashire.
"He needed to engage in that. He needed to take a breath and take stock and decide where he wanted to be, and to be fair to him, I've seen someone mature. There's no denying that he's a world-class keeper."
That verdict will please Pep Guardiola. So, too, will the verdict of England under-21 manager Lee Carsley, who claims he has a 'top mentality'.
And he will need it for the fight ahead of him at City. The expectation now is that Stefan Ortega will leave the club and Trafford will battle with Brazil international Ederson for the No.1 spot next season.
Ederson has redefined the goalkeeper position in the Premier League and has won multiple honours at City. Trafford may have to play second choice at times, which will test his 'top mentality'.
But Guardiola clearly agrees with Parker's assertion that he is a 'world-class keeper' and now he must make good on that faith as he looks to establish himself as City's No.1 for years to come.
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