Man City summer signing No 6 gets ‘here we go’ confirmation, with senior star to be replaced

Manchester City have reached a total agreement to re-sign James Trafford from Burnley, with Fabrizio Romano providing all the details of the transfer and David Ornstein revealing Pep Guardiola’s goalkeeper plans.

Trafford came through the Man City academy but never managed to make a senior appearance during his first spell at the Etihad. The keeper had loan spells at Accrington Stanley and Bolton Wanderers before joining Burnley on a permanent deal in July 2023.

During two years at Turf Moor, Trafford kept 31 clean sheets in 73 games. He was in sublime form last term, breaking the Championship record for most consecutive clean sheets (12). Incredibly, Trafford conceded just 16 goals in 45 Championship matches.

The Englishman’s remarkable season sparked interest from several Premier League clubs, including Newcastle United. Eddie Howe’s side entered advanced talks with Burnley, only for Man City to scupper the deal.

When selling Trafford to Burnley, City made sure to include a £40million (€46m / $54m) buy-back clause so they were protected in case they wanted to re-sign him in the future.

City have activated that clause, with Trafford choosing to return to the club over joining Newcastle.

Romano has given the move his customary ‘here we go’ confirmation, with the deal now ‘agreed’.

Pep Guardiola ‘wanted’ Trafford to become his new keeper and the 22-year-old has ‘informed’ Newcastle he is joining City.

Trafford will sign a five-year contract with City that includes the option for an extra 12 months.

As the Cityzens originally sold Trafford for £14m, the cost of the operation is effectively £26m (€30m / $35m).

Romano adds that the shot-stopper will undergo medical tests ‘early next week’, with the ‘main part on Monday’.

Trafford is due to become City’s sixth signing of the summer transfer window, following Tijjani Reijnders, Rayan Cherki, Rayan Ait-Nouri, Sverre Nypan and Marcus Bettinelli.

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Trafford in, Ortega out

Ornstein has taken a look at the wider keeper situation at City. The Athletic journalist reports that Ederson is now ‘staying’ at City, despite Galatasaray having opened talks for him.

Ederson has been heavily linked with a move away from City over the last two summers, but Ornstein states that it is actually his backup Stefan Ortega who will ‘go’.

Ortega, 32, is not in advanced talks over a transfer yet but is known to be keen on a return to Germany. He represented Arminia Bielefeld and 1860 Munich before arriving at City in 2022.

The signing of Trafford will create an intense battle for the No 1 spot. Ederson has been a revolutionary signing for City but has come in for criticism over the past 12 months.

Trafford will be aiming to usurp the Brazilian and become City’s first-choice keeper, which will in turn help his chances of going to the World Cup with England.

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