Why James Trafford can be England's next keeper as Burnley move nears
This summer is one that goalkeeper Trafford won’t forget in a hurry.
He was named in the European Under-21s Team of the Tournament this week in recognition of his remarkable display at the event. He helped end a 39-year wait for the Young Lions to lift the trophy by becoming the first shot-stopper in the competition’s history to keep six successive clean sheets.
He secured that feat in the most dramatic fashion when he pulled off a 99th-minute penalty save - before then blocking the rebound - to seal England’s 1-0 victory over Spain in the final.
Trafford’s wider reward lies ahead, though, with the Cockermouth-born goalkeeper in line to become the third-most-expensive British keeper in history as his £19million move from Manchester City to Burnley nears completion.
It’s set to be a sharp step up in quality for a man who has never played higher than England’s third tier. However, his performances for Lee Carsley’s side this summer, combined with the consistency he showed on loan at Bolton Wanderers across the past 18 months, indicate he has the potential to adapt.
His impact upon joining the Trotters back in January 2022 was instantaneous. Prior to his arrival, they’d lost six games on the bounce, but with him between the sticks, they went on to win their next four - all without conceding a single goal.
He conceded just 20 goals in Bolton’s final 23 games of that season, and it came as no huge surprise when manager Ian Evatt brought him back for a full season-long loan in the last campaign.
Trafford went on to be a record-breaker for the Greater Manchester side, most notably keeping a club-record nine consecutive home clean sheets between December and February. Delving into the underlying numbers from the season further illuminates the brilliance of his performances.
No League One goalkeeper made more appearances across the campaign than his total of 47, and in that time he remarkably conceded just 36 league goals. Additionally, his Expected Goals Against (xGA) total for the campaign finished at 50.58, meaning he effectively helped Bolton concede around 15 goals fewer than they should have thanks to the high level of his performances.
For context, from the top five in the Premier League in this metric last season - David Raya, Emiliano Martinez, Jordan Pickford, David De Gea and Bernd Leno - it’s only Fulham’s stopper who can better Trafford's overperformance.
As a result, Pickford - Gareth Southgate’s current chief goalkeeper - could be left looking nervously over his shoulder, and understandably so. Because not only does Trafford boast being a tidy shot-stopper, but he’s also an elite distributor, which has often been the edge the Everton man has held over his rivals for the England starting berth - Aaron Ramsdale and Nick Pope.
Trafford's passing game has been honed in City’s academy where playing out from the back is a directive, irrespective of the age group. It’s been further enhanced at Bolton under manager Evatt, who likes to implement a similar style of possession-based football.
Trafford finished last season having averaged more passes per 90 than any other goalkeeper in League One (30.18 per 90), and yet still managed to record the highest pass success rate (88.42%) of them all.
It’s not just with his feet but also with his hands that he can be so instrumental with his distribution. Bolton benefited massively from this last season as he registered three league assists, the most by any goalkeeper in England's top-four leagues last year.
England also profited, for example in the win against Germany when he launched the ball into the feet of attacker Harvey Elliot who dribbled all the way to the penalty area before slotting home the Young Lions' second goal of the match.
That aspect of his game is only set to keep improving when he joins up with manager Vincent Kompany, a disciple of former manager Pep Guardiola, at Burnley.
As many predict, if he keeps on this upward trajectory at Turf Moor, then it seems only a matter of time before we see him reproducing the form he showed for the Young Lions this summer in the senior national England side.
