Eddie Howe's side need to upgrade in goal and a Premier League rival has the answer
It’s pretty astonishing to think that after James Trafford has been replaced by arguably the best goalkeeper in the world just three games into his second Manchester City spell (still aged 22), Joe Hart may not be the goalkeeper whose career Pep Guardiola has ruined most completely.
Only two goalkeepers recorded a worse save percentage than Trafford in the league and both were on relegated teams, while his post-shot expected goals minus goals allowed tally was -5.9 according to Opta via FBRef.com, a woeful number that marked the then-20 year-old out as one of the worst shot stoppers in the division.
Meanwhile Trafford was in the bottom third of ball-playing goalkeepers boasting a pass completion rate of 64% (per Statmuse), and it was no surprise to see him remain with Burnley and line up in the Championship in 2024/25.
Yet Trafford bounced back in fine style - his shot-stopping was revolutionised as he posted the second-highest post-shot xG minus GA at a massive +11.7 and the only player ahead of him made almost twice as many saves that season - meaning double the opportunities to pad that stat.
However, Trafford’s roller-coaster career continues as after Manchester City brought him back to the Etihad Stadium for a British record £31 million, they reduced him to the role of backup to Gianluigi Donnarumma following three games between the sticks in a move that hands an unlikely opportunity to Newcastle United.
Trafford’s proved his worth to Newcastle despite rocky start
While Nick Pope has been an important stepping stone for Eddie Howe’s Newcastle transitioning from the remains of Steve Bruce’s embattled squad to two Champions League qualifications in the space of three seasons.
However, he completed less than two-thirds of his passes last season and the Magpies must evolve beyond that, hence Howe’s insistence on bringing in Aaron Ramsdale, whose own passing numbers can’t be seriously analysed given the state of the Southampton team he was marshalling.
So far Pope has been preferred out of the two former Three Lions but neither are a perfect solution and there’s a reason Newcastle were so interested in Trafford over the summer.
He’s backed that up by completing 15% more passes than Pope so far this Premier League season and though his calamity against Tottenham probably paved the way for Donnarumma’s arrival, Trafford is actually the second-best shot stopper by post-shot xG minus GA at +1.9 (already) largely thanks to a spectacular display in defeat against Brighton.
In short, Trafford has finally proven he can transition his superb age group and second-tier performances to Premier League and shown off his superb all-round skill-set, but a perfect storm only partially of his own making has now denied him that platform for the rest of the season. Which is where Newcastle come in.
Second time can be the charm for Newcastle’s pursuit of Trafford
However, Guardiola’s sudden disinterest in his formerly prized asset should pave the way for Newcastle to make another run at Trafford and at least take him on loan in January - provided his confidence hasn’t been gutted by his sudden axing from the first team. After all, it took Hart six years to recover from his execution from the Manchester City first team and star once more with Celtic.
Newcastle would be the perfect club for Trafford and would offer him the chance to compete for the first time on the biggest stage in the Champions League - they’ll surely still be in contention for at least the knockout play-offs come January. They also have the requisite technical quality at the back to allow Trafford to express himself with the ball at his feet, while the St James’ Park faithful would get behind their new goalkeeper and do their best to help rebuild any lost confidence.
Throughout his rocky career, Trafford has shown the humility to go back to basics and even drop down the footballing pyramid to work with coaches he knows and trusts, and that work-rate and commitment to improve would be recognised in the North East. But week in and week out the lights wouldn’t be quite as bright as at the Etihad and that would allow Trafford to take the final step in his development into a consistently elite goalkeeper.
It’s a move that would suit all parties and given Newcastle’s interest was already there this summer, they should now be moving quickly to line up their number one number 1 target for a January swoop.
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