The summer window is not even a week old, but it’s been a frustrating few days, if reports are to be believed.
Liam Delap opted for Chelsea despite talks with Newcastle, while Bryan Mbeumo seems to have his heart set on Man Utd, with his wage demands and transfer fee thought to be beyond our reach.
However, it seems one long-term Toon target is very much open to signing at St James’ Park this summer, with his comments on a recent podcast appearance handing us fresh encouragement as we look to reignite our interest.
Toon target James Trafford has all but confirmed his interest in joining Newcastle United.
Speaking on the [Fozcast](https://open.spotify.com/show/68XHjBcgGBEA8HQcIHZwl5) podcast alongside former Watford and Man Utd stopper Ben Foster, the Clarets goalkeeper was asked about links away last summer and went on to reveal just how close he came to arriving on Tyneside.
His answers are quite telling, with the 22-year-old admitting Newcastle was a “good fit” and a “brilliant” move that he “really believed in”, giving us hope that a deal could be resurrected 12 months on:
“In the summer I think people knew I wanted to move,” Trafford said. “The club that I was close to going, it was a good fit for me. It was brilliant for me and I really believed in it.”
“I wanted to move, not just because I didn’t want to play in the Championship, I had no shame playing in the Championship. I have no ego to think I’m better than the Championship. You only prove something by performing and showing people. You can say whatever you want but unless you perform…
“It was just when an opportunity and a situation you think suits you can happen, you should take it and you should try and go for it, so I wanted to move. It was close but it didn’t end up happening.”
It’s believed Newcastle failed with a £16m bid last summer, with Scott Parker pushing to keep the England talent at Turf Moor ahead of their promotion bid; which was ultimately successful.
A full season later, both The Mail and The Times have indicated over the past week that Trafford remains Newcastle’s top goalkeeper target, reporting that another bid looks imminent.
He won’t come cheap and may cost north of £30m after such a superb season in the Championship, but his comments on Newcastle suggest the player is very much open to joining.
In the same podcast episode, Trafford then went on to explain how frustrated he was to miss out on the move.
“I was moody because I’m young and I wanted the move”, he said, although he quickly refocused and got back to it under former Mag Scott Parker, going on to keep 29 clean sheets in a record-breaking Championship season between the sticks.
“The manager was brilliant throughout pre-season. I wasn’t the best, I was moody because I’m young and I wanted to move, but in the moment I still worked extremely hard.
“I knew the longer it went on, the reality became I would be playing the first game of the season and I wanted to play. I told the manager I’m available if he wanted to select me. If not, I’ll sit on the bench, but I’m available. He played me the first game and that was it.”