Newcastle United James Trafford has returned to Burnley for pre-season training.
Newcastle had hoped to sign the 22-year-old goalkeeper in time for the return of pre-season training on Monday but are still yet to agree a transfer fee with Burnley.
Trafford has already agreed personal terms with Newcastle but the deal is being held up due to the transfer fee involved.
The Magpies have already had a £27million bid rejected by Burnley but remain in negotiations.
Newcastle United make James Trafford No. 1 target
Trafford was Newcastle’s goalkeeping target last summer but the club were unable to agree a deal amid PSR pressure.
They have returned to the table with Burnley this summer after tracking Trafford’s progress throughout the 2024/25 Championship season. The 22-year-old kept 29 clean sheets in 45 games to help Burnley secure an immediate promotion back to the Premier League.
In doing so, his value increased significantly with Burnley now holding out for around £40million for Trafford, which would make him the most expensive English goalkeeper of all time. Newcastle will look to strike a deal for less than that after previously believing they were close to an agreement only for Burnley’s demands to change.
The Magpies are hoping to have Trafford signed in time for their pre-season opener at Celtic on July 19 (3pm kick-off). This week Newcastle have agreed a deal to sign Anthony Elanga from Nottingham Forest for £55million.
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James Trafford provides Burnley update
Although James Trafford was away with England last month, he did not get on the pitch. International players are sometimes granted extra time off in pre-season but Trafford was among the first players back involved at Burnley on Monday.
The goalkeeper took to Instagram to share an image of himself in Burnley training gear alongside Joe Worrall.
Eagle-eyed viewers may have noticed that Trafford did not have a squad number printed on his training kit which is interesting considering he is Burnley’s No. 1. Many of his teammates had numbers printed on their training kits with the exception of new signings who are yet to be issued squad numbers.
Ultimately, Trafford’s future at Burnley is very uncertain at the moment give that he has already agreed to join Newcastle.
‘Agent’ Nick Pope Instagram comment drops major NUFC transfer hint
Last month, 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.
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