Manchester City announced the signing of goalkeeper James Trafford from Burnley re-acquiring their former academy player.
Trafford will wear the No.1 shirt in the upcoming season.
Trafford was originally sold to Burnley in 2023, but a buy-back clause of £40 million ($54.1 million) in the initial deal was included. Man City and Burnley reached a deal at a figure lower than the clause matching a bid from Newcastle worth £27 million ($36.5 million). The goalkeeper signed a five-year contract that will see him at the club through June 2030.
Trafford played a pivotal role under former Cityzens player Vincent Kompany at Turf Moor. Following relegation and Kompany departing for Bayern Munich, Trafford registered 29 clean sheets in 45 Championship games securing Burnley a return to the Premier League. He set the record for most consecutive clean sheets in the Championship at 12.
“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,” Trafford said in the announcement.
“James is already one of the most accomplished young goalkeepers in the English game, and we are delighted to welcome him back to Manchester City. He has all the attributes a top-class goalkeeper requires. We feel he is an ideal fit for this squad and will bring great quality to the goalkeeping department. We fully believe he will be really successful and a top goalkeeper for Manchester City and the national team,” Hugo Viana, Man City’s director of football, added.
Trafford’s return calls into question both Ederson’s and Stefan Ortega’s futures in Manchester. The former, who has been a permanent fixture over Pep Guardiola’s recent run of success including their treble-winning campaign, was linked with a move away to Galatasaray this summer. But, Pep Guardiola appears keen on keeping the Brazilian at the club as talks with the Turkish side seemingly stalled.
Ortega briefly unseated Ederson as a starter last Premier League season, but Ederson regained his role in what was an uncharacteristic campaign for Guardiola’s side.
Trafford is the second goalkeeper Man City have signed this summer after adding Marcus Bettinelli from Chelsea. The Cityzens also signed Tijjani Reijnders, Rayan Cherki and Rayan Aït-Nouri.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as ‘The Place I Call Home’—Manchester City Confirm Goalkeeper’s Return, First Interview.