James Trafford may be ready to turn his back on Manchester City already, despite only rejoining the club in the summer, and once again, Newcastle United are expected to be lying in wait.
The 23-year-old goalkeeper has become the new Bas Dost at Newcastle. Forever linked with a move to Tyneside, but never actually turning up.
We thought that the Alexander Isak saga dragged on last year, but Newcastle’s attempts to land James Trafford have been ongoing for years now, and it still looks like the Magpies haven’t given up.
After Trafford rejected Newcastle to return to Man City in the summer, Pep Guardiola then went out and brought in Gianluigi Donnarumma, knocking Trafford down the pecking order, much to his dismay. As a result, it’s widely expected that Trafford could be on the move again in the summer.
There was a time when Newcastle declared their interest in Trafford to be over, but after the struggles of Nick Pope and Aaron Ramsdale this season, and Trafford’s exceptional performances when called upon by City, it looks as though he’s back on the menu.
Indeed, The Sun has reported that Tottenham Hotspur are ready to join the race for the England stopper, with Guglielmo Vicario’s future uncertain.
However, their report claims that Newcastle are in pole position should Trafford become available in the summer.
So we should be, too. After failing to land the young star in the last two summer transfer windows, it surely has to be third time lucky if he becomes available again.
Some fans may feel the ship has sailed for Trafford after two failed attempts and his rejection in the summer when it felt almost certain he was coming to Newcastle, but can we really afford to turn away such a quality player because we felt slighted by him last year?
He may not have played often for City this season, but when he’s been called on, he’s been immense. Certainly better than anything we have right now. Let’s hope there’s truth to this one.
Rumour rating: 8/10 – We know Eddie Howe loves Trafford, we’ve been in for him twice before, so it’s not unrealistic. Will Man City let him go? That’s the big issue. That and the fact that the story comes from The Sun drops this one down a couple of points, but we are confident there’s something to this one.