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Aston Villa and Wolves have the chance to do some transfer business when the January window opens up
Aston Villa have emerged as Premier League title contenders following their eye-catching run of form. They are 3rd in the table behind Arsenal and Manchester City. The Midlands oufit won 3-2 away at West Ham last time out and have Manchester United at home up next.
As for Wolves, they are rock bottom of the table and are winless. They have just two points on the board this season. Rob Edwards was appointed as the head coach at Molineux last month after being picked as Vitor Pereira’s replacement.
James Trafford transfer update amid Aston Villa and Wolves links ahead of January
According to Football Insider, Manchester City have ‘no intention’ of letting James Trafford leave in the January transfer window amid links to Aston Villa and Wolves. Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur have also been credited with an interest. However, Pep Guardiola intends to keep the stopper at the Etihad Stadium this winter and doesn’t want to offload him.
Trafford, 23, made the switch to City in the summer for £27million after impressing at Burnley. However, he has since struggled for game time. He rose up through the academy ranks of his current club and was a regular at various different youth levels as a youngster.
The Cumbria-born man was loaned out to Accrington Stanley and Bolton Wanderers to get some experience under his belt in the Football League. Burnley then snapped him up on a permanent basis and he went on to make 73 appearances for the Clarets in all competitions. The ex-England youth international helped Scott Parker’s side win promotion from the Championship in the last campaign along with Leeds United and Sunderland.
Trafford left Turf Moor earlier this year to re-sign for City. He has since made five outings under Guardiola and hasn’t been able to make the number one spot his own. The ‘keeper has found it hard to get into the starting XI ahead of Gianluigi Donnarumma.
What now for James Trafford following Aston Villa and Wolves links?
It appears City want to retain Trafford’s services until the end of the campaign at least. He provides strong back-up behind Donnarumma. After his move in late July, he said: “Rejoining City is such special and proud moment both for me and my family. I always dreamed that one day I would be able to come back to Manchester City. This is the place I call home – it’s a truly special football club with fantastic people who make it such a unique place to work and play.”
Aston Villa could have seen the player as someone to battle it out with Emi Martinez and Marco Bizot. The latter was signed to provide competition behind Martinez and he started against West Ham last time out. Morgan Rogers was on the scoresheet twice against the Hammers at the London Stadium, whilst Konstantinos Mavropanos scored an own goal.
Wolves may have identified Trafford as an alternative to Sam Johnstone and Jose Sa as they continue to struggle for points. The latter has been linked with an exit to West Ham. Edwards will want to put his own stamp on his newly inherited squad next month with some reinforcements.
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