**Newcastle United legend Alan Shearer believes James Trafford will end up regretting choosing Man City over the Magpies.**
Pep Guardiola’s side have since recruited Gianluigi Donnarumma as their new No. 1, with Trafford being relegated to bench duties after just a few games. Donnarumma made an excellent save from Bryan Mbeumo in the Manchester derby at the weekend, and when assessing the Italian’s performance, Shearer said he has no sympathy for his understudy, Trafford:
“He should have signed for Newcastle then, shouldn’t he?”
It is believed that the Magpies did have a £27m offer accepted by Burnley for Trafford, but as City had the first right of refusal, they were able to match the offer, and the keeper opted to move to the Etihad instead.
Trafford may not have been Newcastle’s No.1 either
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Southampton keeper Aaron Ramsdale was [**signed on loan**](https://newcastleunitednews.org/blog/newcastle-united-transfer-news-every-deal-completed-in-2025/) after the club’s failure to land Trafford, but he has not played a single minute since the Premier League season began.
The 27-year-old has been an unused substitute in all 4 of the club’s games so far, with manager Eddie Howe keeping faith with Nick Pope.
With that being the case, it seems like Trafford would have been sitting on the bench no matter which team he had signed for.
Squad depth will be needed over the next month
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Between now and the next international break, Howe’s team will play every few days, with league fixtures, Champions League games and Carabao Cup ties all scheduled.
It means the size of the squad will be incredibly important. Ramsdale and others are likely to get plenty of minutes over the coming weeks. Newcastle may be without two of their new signings for a while, though, with Yoane Wissa (knee) and Jacob Ramsey (ankle) both currently on the sidelines.
In other news, [**Paul Merson says he’s “shocked” that Newcastle didn’t pursue a Chelsea forward**](https://newcastleunitednews.org/blog/newcastle-united-transfer-news-nicolas-jackson-merson/)