West Ham have entered the race to sign Burnley goalkeeper James Trafford, according to reports.
TalkSPORT claim that the Hammers are “ready to rival” Newcastle and other Premier League teams for the 22-year-old’s services.
The radio station say that Graham Potter’s side have sent scouts to watch Trafford in action as they look for a new No.1 goalkeeper.
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Lukasz Fabianski is out of contract at the end of the season, and there are suggestions that he could return to his former club Legia Warsaw on a free transfer.
If that happens, competition for Alphonse Areola will be needed, and it appears Trafford is among the potential candidates.
Why is Trafford in such high demand?
Burnley signed the young shot-stopper from Manchester City at the start of last season but he struggled during his first year at Turf Moor and he was eventually dropped in favour of Arijanet Muric.
However, Trafford regained his place after Muric’s move to Ipswich and he has improved massively in his second campaign with the Clarets, keeping 11 clean sheets and conceding only 26 times in 37 matches.
His impressive performances earned him an England call-up for the World Cup qualifiers against Albania and Latvia this month.
West Ham would have to pay a sizeable fee
Newcastle failed in their first attempt to purchase Trafford last year, with Burnley holding out for £30m at the time. His form means his valuation may have risen since then.
There could also be more competition from other teams. In addition to the Magpies, Manchester United have been credited with an interest over the past few weeks.
With that in mind, a bid from West Ham may well depend on the club’s transfer priorities and whether their budget can accommodate such a big outlay.
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