Newcastle United are looking to strike a deal with Burnley for goalkeeper James Trafford after a rejected transfer bid.
Newcastle saw a £27million bid rejected by Burnley for the 22-year-old, who kept 29 clean sheets in 45 Championship matches last season.
The Magpies also saw bids rejected by Burnley for Trafford last summer and have identified him as the club’s long-term future No. 1.
But in order for that to become a reality, Newcastle will have to strike a deal with Burnley. The Clarets are holding out for around £40million for Trafford, which would make him the most expensive English goalkeeper of all time.
Newcastle would look to strike a deal at a lower price, supplemented by various add-ons, having already agreed personal terms with Trafford.
But if a deal does come to fruition, the goalkeeper will have to brush up on his Geordie dialect first!
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James Trafford deletes ‘Sunderland’ Instagram comment
Trafford helped England win the Under-21s European Championships back in 2023, saving a stoppage-time penalty in the final against Spain.
Two years on and he watched England Under-21s retain the trophy with a 3-2 extra-time win over Germany in Slovakia on Saturday night. Newcastle defender Tino Livramento played a key role in England’s success while former Magpie Elliot Anderson also shone in the competition.
Anderson, who left Newcastle to join Nottingham Forest for £35million exactly one year ago, took to Instagram following the Under-21 European Championship win to post a photo of himself with the trophy along with the caption: “EUROPEAN CHAMPIONS.”
Trafford was quick to comment on Anderson’s post, but it didn’t exactly go down well.
In an attempt to show some appreciation for Tyneside native Anderson, Trafford replied: “Haway.”
If said out loud, it would have certainly been well received. But Trafford adopting the Sunderland spelling of ‘haway’ opposed to the Geordie ‘howay’ sparked quite the reaction.
Anderson promptly corrected Trafford with the Geordie spelling while there was backlash from many Newcastle supporters in the comments who did the same.
Trafford, seeing the error of his ways, later deleted his comment. The goalkeeper had probably had enough Instagram drama for one weekend.
‘Agent’ Nick Pope Instagram comment drops major NUFC transfer hint
Earlier in the weekend, Trafford shared a video showing his England’s Under-21 European Championship heroics from 2023.
Although not Newcastle related, that didn’t stop former Burnley and current Magpies goalkeeper Nick Pope replying to Trafford’s Instagram story.
“See you soon s-------,” Pope commented, dropping a strong hint over a move to Newcastle.
But that Instagram story, and indeed Pope’s comment, have since been removed from Trafford’s profile.
Should Trafford join Newcastle, he will provide stiff competition for Nick Pope for the starting goalkeeper spot.
Pope has a year left on his contract at Newcastle and has missed large chunks of football over the past two seasons with Martin Dubravka coming into the side in his place. But the plan for Trafford is for him to come in and initially compete with Pope before eventually becoming his long-term replacement as Newcastle’s first-choice goalkeeper.
At just 22-years-old, Trafford could prove to be an excellent investment for Newcastle should he realise his potential on Tyneside. He’ll just need to brush up on the dialect first!
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