Manchester City’s transfer business has been a big success so far this summer.
Pep Guardiola’s men were comfortable 4-0 winners over Wolves on Saturday, and although it is easy to get carried away after the first weekend of a new season, Man City’s newest stars impressed at Molineux.
Tijjani Reijnders stole the show against Wolves with a goal and an assist, but Rayan Cherki also impressed by scoring in his debut, James Trafford looked assured in the Man City goal, and Rayan Ait-Nouri did very well on the left.
Despite only moving to the Etihad Stadium, one of these stars could be looking to leave as early as next summer, as a strange situation is playing out at the Manchester club.
James Trafford will look to leave Man City next year if Gianluigi Donnarumma is signed
Trafford started in goal on Saturday due to the absence of Ederson, who was believed to be ill, but cynics think the Brazilian is on his way to Galatasaray, hence why he was not included in the Man City squad for the Wolves match.
If Ederson leaves the Premier League giants, Man City are expected to sign Gianluigi Donnarumma as his replacement, which leaves Trafford in an awkward spot, having just moved to Manchester this summer.
According to Manchester Evening News’ Tyrone Marshall, Trafford will want to leave Man City next summer if the Italian arrives, as the 22-year-old’s ambition is to become England’s number one, which he will not be able to achieve as a number two at the Etihad Stadium.
“I also think it’s a strange one for Trafford. I mean, you can see when they signed Trafford, you can see them selling that idea of like, right, you’re going to do a year, maybe Ederson’s number two, maybe you end up number one, but next year, you know, his contract’s up. It’s pretty clear he’s going to go,” Marshall said on Talking City – Manchester City Podcast.
“He knows the club, and he made it clear he’s not going to be England’s number one if he’s City’s number two. That’s a fact. So you sell him that sort of pathway, that route.
“And I mean, Trafford himself would back himself to get ahead of Ederson this year, I think. But then suddenly, Ederson goes, and you sign Donnarumma, who’s 26, who’s on a huge salary at PSG, and maybe he won’t be on that much at City, but he’ll still be on enough that he’s clearly not going to be a number two goalkeeper.
“I struggle to work out where that leaves Trafford, because if that’s what happens and Donnarumma comes in, Donnarumma is number one all this year, Trafford’s going to want out next summer.
“I don’t think there’s any doubt about that, because his ambition is clearly to be England’s number one.”
How James Trafford compares to Gianluigi Donnarumma
Gabriel Agbonlahor believes Trafford’s dream of playing at the 2026 World Cup could be crushed if Man City sign Donnarumma, but not only that, his career in Manchester would be over before it even gets started.
Signing the Italian would be a strange one from City as the PSG star is a great shot-stopper, but is poor with the ball at his feet, which is a trait Guardiola does not like in his goalkeepers.
| Player | Games | Goals Conceded | Clean Sheets | Minutes |
| James Trafford | 45 | 16 | 29 | 4050 |
| Gianluigi Donnarumma | 47 | 43 | 17 | 4192 |
Trafford is the opposite, as the Englishman showed again against Wolves how good his distribution is, and not only that, the 22-year-old proved that he is a solid shot-stopper and has great composure.
Sticking with Trafford as number one would be the wise decision for Guardiola to make, but unfortunately for the England star, things do not look to be heading that way.
