James Trafford
James Trafford is set to be on the move this summer
Age might not be quite as important for goalkeepers, but Manchester City clearly need to plan ahead in that department, with three first-team squad members all in their 30s.
will turn 32 next month, Stefan Ortega will be 33 in November, and third-choice Marcus Bettinelli turned 33 in May. It’s a goalkeeping group with plenty of experience but little in the way of a long-term future.
Ederson came close to leaving last summer, and while he looks certain to stay for next season, his form has been questionable, and a departure in 2026 can’t be ruled out.
has considered leaving to be a No. 1 elsewhere. He played plenty of games last season as Ederson struggled with fitness, but he doesn’t look set to really challenge the Brazilian.
Bettinelli is a different proposition, having replaced 39-year-old Scott Carson, and aren’t alone in wanting an experienced hand to fill that third-choice goalkeeper role.
It’s ahead of them where the question marks lie, and having significantly refreshed this squad over the last couple of years, giving it a much younger age profile, it looks obvious that changes will be needed in goal over the next year or two.
City could conceivably be in a position next summer where both Ederson and Ortega leave and they are looking for two new goalkeepers in the same window. That would present its challenges.
Instead, maybe they are missing a trick this summer. James Trafford is a former City academy graduate who enjoyed an outstanding campaign in the Championship with Burnley. He is set to break into the England squad on a regular basis and looks likely to move to Newcastle this summer.
City's buy-back clause on Trafford is around £40million, although the fee could be lower than that anyway. The 22-year-old knows the club well and would immediately offer some potential planning in the goalkeeping department.
Trafford is expected to compete with Nick Pope at St James’ Park, but City could feasibly move for him and allow Ortega to leave this summer. The challenge laid down to Trafford would be to take the shirt off Ederson.
If he achieves that, it could give City a new No. 1 for years to come and bring in a player who ticks both homegrown boxes for UEFA and Premier League squad rules.
Even if Trafford didn’t manage to usurp Ederson, City could still sell him next summer for a sizeable fee. Young English goalkeepers are in demand.
It’s not a scenario that seems likely to happen. Instead, Trafford will almost certainly sign for Newcastle. But if he goes on to establish himself as first-choice on Tyneside and challenges Jordan Pickford for the England role, it might go down as a missed opportunity.
Kevin de Bruyne is one of - if not the - greatest players to play for Manchester City.
He leaves the club having won six Premier League titles, two FA Cups, five League Cups and a memorable Champions League victory!
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To mark his amazing time at the Etihad Stadium, this special edition has been produced - KDB The King - to celebrate Kev's career with the Blues. We look back at his 10 best games in Blue, celebrate his title wins and hear from the City boss and a host of team-mates and football elite who give their views on what makes him so special.
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