Newcastle United obviously have high hopes for James Trafford as they aim to bring him to St James’ Park.
James Trafford almost joined Newcastle United in 2024, and now the Magpies are aiming to make up for lost time.
It has been reported that Newcastle are in talks to sign Trafford from Burnley, with Eddie Howe keen for the youngster to compete with Nick Pope for the number one spot.
While Newcastle believe signing Trafford will be difficult, there appears to be real intent to add the 22-year-old to Howe’s squad ahead of the 2025/26 season.
Photo by James Gill - Danehouse/Getty Images
Photo by James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images
Newcastle United can make James Trafford’s England dream come true
If Trafford does arrive, his immediate priority will be getting into the starting XI ahead of Pope. That will be difficult, as Pope has enjoyed an incredibly strong 2025 so far.
But the Burnley youngster will have confidence in his ability. After all, Trafford has called himself ‘world class’ in the past, so confidence is not something he is lacking.
As well as establishing himself as Newcastle’s number one stopper, Trafford will also have ambitions of becoming an England regular.
A move to Newcastle United can make that dream come true. If Trafford has any doubts over whether St James’ Park is the right place for him to achieve his England dreams, he should look no further than Anthony Gordon, Tino Livramento, Lewis Hall and Dan Burn.
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They have all made their England debuts since moving to Tyneside and working with Eddie Howe. The Newcastle United manager has helped them improve so much that they have become impossible to ignore at international level.
The same can happen for Trafford, who will have his eye on replacing Jordan Pickford as England’s number one in the coming years.
What James Trafford has said about playing for England
Trafford was part of England’s preliminary squad for the 2024 European Championship. Unfortunately for him, Gareth Southgate did not name him in the final squad.
The shot-stopper could not hide his disappointment at the time, telling Farmers Weekly in June 2024 that he hopes to go one better when the 2026 World Cup squad is announced.
“There was a little bit of disappointment that I had not been picked, but the three goalies who are going are massively talented,” he said.
“Hopefully, the experience will help me when the next major tournament comes round in two years’ time.”
This time it will be Thomas Tuchel picking the squad, with the new England boss recently naming Trafford in his group for the qualifier against Andorra and friendly versus Senegal. He is clearly in Tuchel’s thoughts already, and will have a great chance to go to the World Cup if he plays regularly at a high level for Newcastle United.