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James Trafford is back in the England squad after Nick Pope pulled out but the Manchester City goalkeeper has fallen down the pecking order.
James Trafford was England's third-choice goalkeeper when he signed for Manchester City and at the very least had designs on being next in line behind Jordan Pickford soon enough.
Instead, three months after his £27million return to the Etihad, Trafford has dropped a place. He wasn't included in Thomas Tuchel's squad for the November internationals and only got a reprieve when Nick Pope pulled out with a concussion.
The 23-year-old will hope to impress in training but the writing appears to be on the wall. Pickford and Dean Henderson are certainties for the World Cup and if Pope continues to play regularly for Newcastle, that looks likely to edge him into the third-choice role.
Trafford's issue is his lack of exposure. When signing for City in July, he expected to be competing with Ederson this season and would have backed himself to win that battle with the Brazilian. The reality has proven to be very different.
He started the first three Premier League games of the season, but by then it was becoming clear that Ederson was on his way out, to be replaced by Gianluigi Donnarumma. The Italian is only three years older than Trafford and has signed a five-year contract, with the option of a further year.
Since Trafford started against Brighton on the last day of August, his only further appearances have been in Carabao Cup wins against Huddersfield and Swansea. His next competitive outing is likely to be when Brentford visit the Etihad for a quarter-final tie the week before Christmas.
Maybe the former Burnley goalkeeper will get games in the FA Cup and he might start against Bodo/Glimt or Galatasaray in the Champions League if City are on track to qualify, but it's not going to be enough to catch the eye.
Trafford said at the start of this season he wanted to be City's No. 1 for a decade and he wants to be England's No. 1 as well. Right now, neither looks likely to happen, although Guardiola said last week that he still felt he would get there.
“We have an incredible 'keeper. For England, sooner or later, he will be the one," he said.
Dislodging Pickford is no easy task given the quality of his performances for the Three Lions, but it's an impossible task if you're not playing for your club, and that is where Trafford finds himself.
"We are delighted with his behaviour in training," Guardiola said of Trafford.
"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."
There is a certain irony in Trafford replacing Pope in this month's England squad, given Newcastle wanted to sign him to challenge Pope this season. Only when the Magpies had a £27million bid accepted by Burnley did it force City to match the offer.
This isn't the scenario Trafford expected when he made that return to his former club. A departure already looks inevitable given his ambitions aren't going to be met at the Etihad, and if Trafford wants to make England's World Cup squad, he might even have to push for a move in January.
City are unlikely to allow that, although with Stefan Ortega and Marcus Bettinelli at the club, they could absorb the loss of a goalkeeper.
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