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England's goalkeeper #13 James Trafford celebrates the opening goal during the UEFA Nations League Group A3 football match between the Czech Republic and England at Fortuna Arena in Prague on September 29, 2026. (Photo by Michal Cizek / AFP via Getty Images)
James Trafford became Leeds United’s record signing this summer at £40million.
The 23-year-old Englishman signed from Manchester City after being their backup for the majority of last season following the arrival of Gianluigi Donnarumma.
We all knew that Trafford was a talented ‘keeper before he arrived. However, after just five Premier League games at Leeds, Trafford was called up to the England squad for the international break.
It’s not like Trafford has just sat on the bench either. He’s played in England’s opening two Nations League fixtures against Spain and the Czech Republic.
When I consider Trafford’s success in this international break, I can’t help but think back to what a former Leeds United defender said about him when we signed him in the summer.
Danny Mills’ claim that we overpaid for James Trafford looks even more wrong amid recent England caps
Despite what bitter Everton supporters would have you believe on social media, Trafford was solid in the 2-3 defeat against Spain. Ian Wright was among those who were impressed with his performance.
Trafford had a quieter game against the Czech Republic on Tuesday. But most importantly, he managed to keep a clean sheet.
So, as well as starting the season incredibly well for Leeds, Trafford is already in contention to dethrone Jordan Pickford as England’s number one. This has come even sooner than we could’ve imagined.
In the summer, former Leeds defender Danny Mills claimed that his former club had paid a “hefty fee” for Trafford. He also questioned whether Leeds could’ve signed another goalkeeper who he deemed to be better value for money.
As well as this, Mills also claimed previously that signing a goalkeeper like Trafford would not elevate us into a team that qualifies for Europe.
It’s only our second season back in the Premier League. No supporter is seriously considering us not qualifying for Europe this campaign to be a failure.
It is early days, but we do sit 5th in the Premier League for now. Trafford is a large reason for that. So even on that front, Mills is wrong as it stands.
Getting a player of Trafford’s quality and age for £40million in today’s market is a fantastic deal. The sort of deal that we will need to replicate going forward if we are going to propel up the Premier League table under the 49ers.
The fact that after his first run of games back as a number one goalkeeper at club level, Trafford is already making appearances for England shows just how highly he’s rated. Mills’ stance on this transfer was always wrong, but after Trafford’s successful international break, it looks even worse now.
James Trafford has a different sort of challenge for Leeds when he returns from international duty
So far at Leeds in Trafford’s five Premier League appearances, he has only conceded three goals.
For the vast majority of those games, the game has been tight, and we have been competitive.
But our first game after the international break is away against Arsenal. They are the only side that thrashed us both at home and away last season. United failed to cause them any sort of trouble. We lost our games against Arsenal 5-0 and 4-0 respectively.
Mikel Arteta’s side are one of the very best in Europe. It is likely that we will be under the cosh from minute one all the way to the final whistle.
If we are going to leave the Emirates with any sort of positive result, Trafford must be at hist best. He will need to make saves the likes of Illan Meslier, Lucas Perri, or Karl Darlow wouldn’t have made for us before.
These are the sorts of games in which Trafford can really showcase his class. Even perhaps convincing the likes of Mills that he is worth every last penny we paid for him.