PL Club ‘In Talks’ To Sign England World Cup Player
Transfers in the Premier League are coming thick and fast, with the summer window well underway. Now, a player who was in England’s World Cup squad could be on the move in the coming weeks.
Manchester City backup goalkeeper James Trafford is a man in demand in the moment. Recently it seems that Leeds United have taken the lead in the race to acquire his signature.
According to journalist David Ornstein on X (formerly Twitter), the Whites are ‘in talks’ to formulate a move for the player. It is unclear if an official move has been made as of yet.
Leeds have already made some highly impressive forays into the transfer window thus far. They signed Bosnian international Tarik Muharemović from Sassuolo for a fee of £34 million, which should help shore up their often-leaky defence.
However, their most impressive move thus far has been their acquisition of Harry Wilson from Fulham on a free transfer. Wilson notched up 17 goal contributions in the league last season – it was arguably the best transfer in the Premier League so far this window.
Nevertheless, Leeds are not the only club looking to snap up the young shot-stopper. Newcastle United are also in the mix, with ‘club-to-club’ contact having been made, but Trafford would seemingly rather make the jump to Elland Road rather than St. James’ Park at present.
Leeds and Newcastle could also face competition from some of the Premier League’s biggest hitters. According to GOAL, back in April, both Liverpool and Chelsea were keen to bring him on board, though it is unclear if their interest has persisted into the summer.
Despite being named in the squad, Trafford didn’t play a single minute for England at the World Cup. This was to be expected, though, taking on the role of their third-choice ‘keeper behind Jordan Pickford and Dean Henderson.
James Trafford 2025/26 Premier League stats
| Games | Conceded | C. Sheets | Y. Cards | R. Cards | |
| J. Trafford | 4 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Would James Trafford be a good signing for Leeds?
It is important to remember that Trafford is still young. When he was snapped up by City last season, it became quickly apparent that he was not ready for first-team football at one of the league’s leading clubs.
At Leeds, he will be given plenty of opportunities to ply his trade and grow. He quickly became second-choice at the Etihad Stadium after they signed Gianluigi Donnarumma – he won’t need to worry about this at Leeds.
Trafford is the archetypal ball-playing goalkeeper. He is excellent with the ball at his feet and can play his way out of danger, but he isn’t the natural ‘keeper in the world.
While his shot-stopping is strong, he can struggle from crosses and set-pieces. He needs to fill out his physical frame a bit to become more domineering from these sorts of positions.
This aside, he is a great penalty saver. He has faced 16 penalties so far in his professional career, saving five of them. Most notably, he saved a penalty from Mohamed Salah against Liverpool in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup last season.
