Man City set to re-sign keeper Trafford for £27m

Manchester City are set to re-sign English goalkeeper James Trafford for £27m, two years after he left to join Burnley.

The 22-year-old City academy graduate signed for the Clarets in July 2023 in deal worth up to £19m with add-ons.

He impressed last season as Scott Parker's side won promotion back to the Premier League, keeping 29 clean sheets across 45 Championship games, and was named in the division team of the year.

City had a buy-back clause for Trafford but also matching rights, allowing them to match any offer from another club.

They have done so following a £27m bid from Newcastle and Trafford has opted for a return to Manchester.

The England Under-21 international is expected to sign a five-year contract at Etihad Stadium with the option for another year.

He will be the fourth goalkeeper at City manager Pep Guardiola's disposal, with Ederson, Stefan Ortega and Marcus Bettinelli already at the club.

It is anticipated Trafford will challenge Brazil international Ederson, who has been first-choice goalkeeper for eight years, for the number one spot.

Ederson is in the final year of his contract and has been linked with a move to Galatasaray, yet just last month he called rumours of a departure "99% fake news".

City have not received any bids for the 31-year-old yet, while there are doubts about the future of German Ortega as such competition for a place can not guarantee him game time.

Trafford signed for City's academy in 2015 but never made a first-team appearance and spent time on loan at Accrington Stanley and Bolton Wanderers.

He has appeared for Burnley 73 times, including 28 in the Premier League in the 2023-24 season.

Trafford has represented England from U17s to U21 level and was part of the winning European U21 Championship squad of 2023, in which he kept six clean sheets and did not concede a goal.

He received his first senior call-up for international duty in 2024 but has yet to make his debut for the senior team.

If he returns to the Etihad he will be City's sixth signing of the window after midfielders Tijjani Reijnders (initial fee of £46.5m), Rayan Cherki (initial fee of £30.45m) and Sverre Nypan (£12.5m); left-back Rayan Ait-Nouri (£31m) and Bettinelli (nominal fee).

They also spent £200m in the January transfer window to boost their squad following significant injuries across the pitch.

Manchester City insert buy-back clauses when they sell players and do not always tend to activate them when players move on.

But this is an example of why they put them in the deals, as it has proven helpful in the ability to buy back a talented player on this occasion.

Having served an impressive apprenticeship at Turf Moor, City believe they can develop him into a top goalkeeper, but one who is already Premier League ready.

The club, though, now have the dilemma of moving on either Ederson, who is entering the final year of his contract, or Ortega, who has now slipped a place down the pecking order.

Trafford conceded just 16 league goals with Burnley last term and kept a Championship-best 30 clean sheets, equalling Port Vale's Football League record which was set 71 years ago.

He also set a new Championship record of 12 consecutive shutouts between December and February before he was finally beaten in a 2-1 victory at Cardiff City at the start of March.

But despite his stellar performances in the second tier last season, the 22-year-old lacks a degree of top-flight experience and only 28 of his 153 senior appearances have been in the Premier League.

Trafford's shot-stopping is undoubtedly first rate and his save percentage stands at almost 85% last season.

That figure far exceeds the numbers posted by both Ederson and Stefan Ortega, although Trafford was largely facing inferior opposition at Championship level.

But he will have to develop his distribution if he's to fit into Guardiola's side and system as his pass completion of 70% is comfortably lower than that of Manchester City's current keepers.

That is partly because Burnley opted to go long more often (averaging 55 long passes per game compared to City's 36) and partly because Ederson and Ortega are more proficient at playing out from the back.