In hindsight, the decision to move to Manchester City wasn’t James Trafford’s wisest.
Trafford returned to Man City over the summer with the idea he’d be number one. The 23-year-old shone for Burnley last season, conceding just 16 goals on their way to promotion. And Trafford started the campaign well enough. He was first choice between the sticks for meetings with Wolverhampton Wanderers, Tottenham Hotspur and Brighton and Hove Albion.
Where should James Trafford move in January?
Then disaster struck on deadline day. Man City signed Gianluigi Donnarumma from Paris Saint-Germain. Few could have foreseen the Italian swapping Paris for Manchester after PSG’s Champions League success. Trafford must have have been cursing his luck. It was like Daryl Strawberry usurping Homer Simpson at right field for the Springfield Nuclear Powerplant softball team. Hindsight, though, is always 20-20.
Since Donnarumma consolidated his starting spot, Trafford has started just two matches, both in the Carabao Cup. In the process, the youngster lost his spot in the England squad. He only returned to the setup after Nick Pope withdrew having suffered a concussion against Brentford last weekend.
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However, reports suggest that Trafford is going to look for a move in January in order to garner regular game time. In a World Cup year, this is vital. Seemingly behind Pope in the pecking order for the Three Lions, we pick out some possible destinations for Trafford.
Dream: Chelsea
Would Man City be prepared to sell a out-of-favour English youngster to Chelsea again? The Citizens will have watched Cole Palmer blossom into one of the best attackers in the Premier League with envy. Palmer has excelled at Stamford Bridge since his 2023 switch. Man City haven’t exactly underwhelmed but it’s a case of ‘what could have been’.
Chelsea, meanwhile, could do with a goalkeeper upgrade. Robert Sanchez and Filip Jorgensen hardly inspire confidence in the defence. The Blues had looked to strengthen between the sticks with Mike Maignan in the off-season. They may yet return for the Frenchman, whose AC Milan contract is up in June.
Forget Maignan, though, Chelsea could upgrade with a homegrown option with Trafford. While a small sample size, Trafford averages more saves per 90 minutes (3.7) and boasts a better save success rate (73.33%) than the Blues duo.
In addition, Trafford (71.96%) has a better pass accuracy than Sanchez (65.57%), while the former’s long pass accuracy (32.5%) is also marginally higher than the latter (31.67%). With a possession average of 59.7% the second highest in the Premier League, Trafford would help Chelsea dominate further.
Realistic: Tottenham
Crossing the London divide from west to north, Tottenham realistically need to strengthen in goal. Okay, so it’s not a priority position, but Guglielmo Vicario has hardly convinced this season. The Italian is capable of making impossible saves only to do something to undo his hard work.
Spurs already have one young goalkeeper on the books in Antonin Kinsky, yet the Czech has flattered to deceive. The 22-year-old hasn’t had the chance to build up consistency but hardly convinced in his two Carabao Cup outings. Goalkeeper isn’t exactly a priority position for Tottenham. However, they would benefit from upgrading between the sticks.
Trafford’s save success rate may be lower than Vicario (77.27%). The English shotstopper, though, makes up for with a better long ball success rate compared to the Italy international (32.39%).
Thomas Frank’s side boast the fourth best defensive record having conceded 10 Premier League goals this season. That record would improve with the towering Trafford in goal. Vicario, too, has been linked with an Italy return in the foreseeable future. AC Milan have been credited with an interest. Maybe he’ll be Maignan’s replacement for the Rossoneri…
Wildcard: Man City
So, it’s not against the realms of possibility that Trafford remains at Man City. Pep Guardiola knows he needs competition in every area. However, goalkeeper is always the hardest position to crack. It’s all the tougher when your competition is Italy’s captain and a Champions League winner.
Donnarumma has excelled since his move to the Etihad Stadium. At 26 years of age, the Azzurri skipper has time on his side. Given his consistency, he’s unlikely to lose his starting spot anytime soon. The performances alone speak for themselves.
Donnarumma has the better save success rate (78.95%), pass accuracy (73.47%) and long ball accuracy (38.55%), and concedes fewer league goals per 90 (0.5) than Trafford. Furthermore, Guardiola already has a handy backup for Donnarumma in Stefan Ortega. The German has featured just once for Man City since the end of the 2024-15 season, and that was at the Club World Cup.
If Trafford is happy to sit on the bench and collect his weekly pay cheque like a young Scott Carson, then by all means remain at Man City. However, the likelihood is he’ll want regular minutes as he looks to book his spot on the England plane next summer.
Squawka Suggests: Tottenham
Tottenham have homegrown issues. It’s one of the reasons they sold promising youngster Josh Keeley over the summer. They could ease these concerns with the addition of Trafford.
While Tottenham would be hamstrung in Uefa competition, they’d at least ease worries domestically. Standing at 6’6″, Trafford would offer a real presence from set-pieces, which as the 2-2 draw with Manchester United highlighted; is still a problem. In addition, Trafford’s a better distributor than Vicario and just as good a shotstopper.
Spurs have other pressing areas in need of strengthening in January, notably on the left wing. However, the chance to sign Trafford is one they can ill-afford to pass up. He’d be a game-changing signing at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.