New Manchester City signing James Trafford has named the player at the club that he “looked up to a lot” when he first trained with him.
James Trafford is back at Manchester City after the club re-signed the goalkeeper in a £31million deal following two fruitful seasons at Burnley.
Trafford’s impressive form at Turf Moor, in which he kept 31 clean sheets in 73 appearances for the Clarets, has convinced Pep Guardiola to re-sign him.
Trafford is expected to challenge Ederson for the first-choice spot between the sticks and, speaking to the City media team, he sang the Brazilian’s praises.
James Trafford says Ederson is someone he looked up to a lot
Trafford said he looked up to Ederson a lot when the City returnee trained with him, and sought to model parts of his game on the Brazil star.
Trafford also expressed his excitement at being able to work with each of the club’s goalkeepers.
“He’s extremely talented and one of a kind with the ball at his feet,” Trafford said.
“He’s someone I looked up to a lot when I first trained with him when I was 17.
“I just tried to take small bits of his game and try and put them into my game and improve.
“I’m excited to work with all the goalkeepers and just push each other and improve.”
What is set to happen with Stefan Ortega
As it stands, City have four top goalkeepers in their ranks – Ederson, Trafford, Stefan Ortega, and Marcus Bettinelli.
Ortega is set to be sold as he seeks regular playing time, with Leicester City, Burnley and Fenerbahce all said to be keen on Ortega.
It means Guardiola is likely to have Ederson, Trafford and another new arrival in Bettinelli as his three goalkeeping options next season.
