Need to know
Uncertainty surrounding James Trafford's Manchester City future continued this week after comments made while away with England
James Trafford is part of the England squad at this summer's World Cup
James Trafford is part of the England squad at this summer's World Cup(Image: Richard Pelham/Getty Images)
Everything you need to know about James Trafford's future at Manchester City:
Trafford's future at the Etihad Stadium is up in the air after being the club's second choice goalkeeper this season.
The City academy graduate returned to his boyhood club expecting to be first choice. However, Gianluigi Donnarumma's arrival from PSG changed those plans.
He did impress in both the FA and Carabao Cups with City winning both competitions with him in goal. Those performances ensured he was called up to the England squad along with Everton's Jordan Pickford and Crystal Palace's Dean Henderson.
Pickford remains Thomas Tuchel's first choice for the World Cup and Trafford has made no secret of his ambition to one day be his country's No.1.
"History says yeah," Trafford admitted when asked if he needed to be first choice for his club if he wanted to achieve that dream. "There hasn’t been a goalie start for any of the top nations that isn’t a number one at the club."
"It’s been challenging the past season, but looking back, I’ve learned so much, I’ve developed so much. I thought I’d had a lot of experiences up to this point in my career, but this was a new experience for me," he continued. "It was tough. Some days were harder than others, but the one thing I wanted to keep doing was keep winning and improving every day.
"I kept doing that and I came out the season having played a part in winning the two trophies that we did. It was a challenging season, but I learned a lot for myself and for going forward in my career. You have still got to perform at the highest level, and when I did move, if I would have become England’s number one for the tournament, it would have been brilliant. I’d have been very happy [being City's No.1], but obviously I didn’t.
"They ended up signing Gigi, and I didn’t play the majority of the games, and that’s football," he concluded. "The two trophies were nice. Every day I just thought, ‘Keep improving, keep trying to win the day, and see where it takes me’."
If City are to sell Trafford, it is expected they would want £40m to make a profit on his exit. Read the full story here.