Categories
  Encyclosphere.org ENCYCLOREADER
  supported by EncyclosphereKSF

James Trafford

From Wikipedia - Reading time: 13 min

James Trafford
Trafford with Burnley in 2025
Personal information
Full name James Harrington Trafford[1]
Date of birth (2002-10-10) 10 October 2002 (age 22)[2]
Place of birth Cockermouth, England
Height 6 ft 6 in (1.97 m)[2]
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team
 Manchester City
Number 1
Youth career
Cockermouth
Carlisle United
2015–2021 Manchester City
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2021–2023 Manchester City 0 (0)
2021–2022 → Accrington Stanley (loan) 11 (0)
2022 → Bolton Wanderers (loan) 22 (0)
2022–2023 → Bolton Wanderers (loan) 45 (0)
2023–2025 Burnley 73 (0)
2025– Manchester City 0 (0)
International career‡
2018–2019 England U17 7 (0)
2019 England U18 2 (0)
2019 England U19 1 (0)
2021–2022 England U20 5 (0)
2022– England U21 19 (0)
Medal record
Representing  England
UEFA European Under-21 Championship
Winner 2023
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 16:55, 3 May 2025 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals as of 13:00, 12 October 2024 (UTC)

James Harrington Trafford (born 10 October 2002) is an English professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Premier League club Manchester City.[3]

Early life

[edit]

Trafford was born in Cockermouth, Cumbria,[4] and grew up in the nearby village of Greysouthen in a farming family.[5] He was a Chelsea fan.[5] He attended Cockermouth School and St Bede's College.[5] He learned to drive on a tractor[6] and in his early career he would return to help out on the family farm in the off-season.[7]

Club career

[edit]

Manchester City

[edit]

Trafford began his career with Cockermouth and Carlisle United, signing with Manchester City in August 2015 at the age of 12.[5] At Carlisle he began as a midfielder but volunteered to become a goalkeeper at age nine.[7] He was part of the Manchester City Under-18s team that won the 2019–20 Professional U18 Development League and the Under-23s team that won the 2020–21 Professional U23 Development League.[8]

He moved on loan to Accrington Stanley in July 2021.[9] This loan was later described as "challenging" due to injuries and losing his first-team place.[7]

Bolton Wanderers

[edit]

Trafford signed on loan for Bolton Wanderers on 13 January 2022, until the end of the 2021–22 season.[10] He kept four clean sheets in his first four games, the first time a goalkeeper had done so in Bolton's entire history.[11][12][6]

On 15 June 2022, Trafford rejoined Bolton on loan for a further season.[13][14] In July 2022, he signed a new five-year contract with Manchester City.[15] By October he was noted for his clean sheets,[16] and Trafford broke Bolton's record for consecutive home clean sheets on 4 February, with the 1–0 win over Cheltenham Town being his eighth in a row.[17][18][19] He was able to extend the record to nine,[20][6] though was unable to have it reach double figures as on 25 February he conceded against Port Vale in a 2–1 win, the first time since 2 December.[21] On 2 April, he started in the 2023 EFL Trophy final and kept a clean sheet in 4–0 win against Plymouth Argyle.[22] Trafford's clean sheet in a 1–0 win against Shrewbury Town on 22 April was his 25th of the season, which broke the record for the most clean sheets by a Bolton goalkeeper in one season.[23][24] He finished the season with a total of 26 clean sheets.[6] He helped Bolton qualify for the play-offs, though they were defeated by Barnsley in the semi-finals.[25] He was voted as Bolton's Young Player of the Year for the 2022–23 season, together with Conor Bradley.[26][27] His performances during the season saw him named in the PFA Team of the Year for League One.[28] He said his time at Bolton turned him from a "long, skinny boy" into a "long, skinny man".[29]

Burnley

[edit]

On 3 July 2023, it was announced that a £15 million transfer fee had been agreed between Manchester City and Burnley for Trafford.[30] With add-ons, the deal could reach a total of £19 million — which if met would break Burnley's transfer record.[6] On 20 July 2023, Trafford's move to Burnley was officially completed.[31][32] Due to their sell-on clause, Carlisle United got 15% of the fee for around £2.25m.[33] He became the third most expensive British goalkeeper in history.[34]

He made his Burnley and Premier League debut on 11 August 2023, in a 3–0 home defeat to his former club Manchester City.[35] He earned high praise after Man of the Match performance in a 1–1 draw against Brighton & Hove Albion on 9 December in which he made 10 saves.[36][37]

In January 2025, he saved two penalties in a league match against Sunderland,[38][39] being praised by manager Scott Parker as a "special" player.[40] Having not conceded a goal across any of their six matches in the month, he was named EFL Championship Player of the Month.[41] By February 2025, Trafford had gone 1,000 minutes without conceding a goal.[42] In March 2025, this streak came to an end in Burnley's EFL Championship match against Cardiff City, with Yousef Salech scoring in the 42nd minute.[43] During this run, Trafford got 12 clean sheets in a row — breaking the record for the most consecutive clean sheets in Championship history (the prior record was 10).[44] After 33 games, Trafford/Burnley had conceded only 9 goals — the lowest in the history of English Football at that point of the season.[45] Trafford finished the season with 29 clean sheets,[46] which equalled the record for a goalkeeper in a single season in English football.[47] During the 2024–25 season, Burnley conceded only 16 goals in 46 games, the least in the history of the Football League, beating the previous record of 20,[48][45] although this was 1 more than Chelsea's 15 conceded in 38 games in the 2004–05 Premier League.[45]

Return to Manchester City

[edit]

On 29 July 2025, Manchester City announced the return of Trafford on a five-year deal, after activating their buy-back clause and matching Newcastle United's £31 million bid.[8][49][50] Trafford's official fee was £31 million (being the record paid for a British goalkeeper), although City received £4 million back due to their sell-on clause, and so only paid £27 million.[49][50]

International career

[edit]

Trafford played his first international match of his career for England U17 on 24 March 2018 against Croatia U17 in which he saved a penalty and kept a clean sheet in a 0–0 draw despite England being down to ten men.[51] He made a further six appearances for the U17 including one appearance at the 2019 UEFA European Under-17 Championship, then played twice for England U18, and once for England U19.[52]

On 6 September 2021, Trafford made his debut for the England U20s during a 6–1 victory over Romania U20s at St. George's Park.[53]

On 25 May 2022, Trafford received his first call up to the England U21 squad ahead of the final round of 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification matches.[54] Trafford made his debut in the 5–0 win away to Kosovo.[55]

On 14 June 2023, Trafford was included in the England squad for the 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.[56] He did not concede a goal during the tournament in six matches,[6] the first time a goalkeeper had done this in the tournament's history,[57] and saved a stoppage-time penalty and its rebound in the final against Spain as England won the game 1–0.[58] His mentality was praised by England under-21 manager Lee Carsley.[59] It was later reported that Trafford had told friends that he would save a penalty that game.[34]

Following an injury to Sam Johnstone in March 2024, Trafford received his first call up to the senior squad for a friendly against Belgium.[60][61] He was selected to England's provisional 33-member squad for Euro 2024.[62] On 6 June 2024, he was dropped from the final 26-man squad.[63]

Style of play

[edit]

He spent his early career as an outfield player.[5] At Carlisle he began as a midfielder but volunteered to become a goalkeeper at age 9.[7] He has been praised for his reflexes and distribution.[64] He is noted for his ability to get clean sheets, breaking multiple records with Bolton Wanderers,[16][6][17][23] Burnley,[44][45] and winning the 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship without conceding a goal.[6][58][57]

Personal life

[edit]

In 2025, two years after leaving Bolton Wanderers, Trafford revealed he loved his time at the club so much that it had caused him to become a Bolton fan.[65]

Career statistics

[edit]
As of match played 3 May 2025
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup EFL Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Manchester City U23 2020–21[66] — — — 2[a] 0 2 0
Manchester City 2021–22[67] Premier League 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2022–23[68] Premier League 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Accrington Stanley (loan) 2021–22[67] League One 11 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 11 0
Bolton Wanderers (loan) 2021–22[67] League One 22 0 — — — 22 0
Bolton Wanderers (loan) 2022–23[68] League One 45 0 1 0 0 0 6[b] 0 52 0
Burnley 2023–24[69] Premier League 28 0 0 0 0 0 — 28 0
2024–25[70] Championship 45 0 0 0 0 0 — 45 0
Total 73 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 73 0
Manchester City 2025–26 Premier League 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Career total 151 0 1 0 0 0 8 0 160 0
  1. ^ Appearances in EFL Trophy
  2. ^ Four appearances in EFL Trophy, two appearances in League One play-offs

Honours

[edit]

Manchester City Under-18s

Manchester City Under-23s

Bolton Wanderers

England U21

Individual

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "EFL – Squad List 2021/22" (PDF). English English Football League. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
  2. ^ a b "James Trafford". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
  3. ^ James Trafford at Soccerway
  4. ^ "A closer look at James Trafford's background". Burnley F.C. 23 July 2023. Retrieved 26 July 2025.
  5. ^ a b c d e "James, 12, signs for mega-rich Man City". Times and Star. 28 August 2015. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h "From farm to final – England's future number one?". BBC Sport. 7 July 2023.
  7. ^ a b c d Fisher, Ben (4 July 2023). "James Trafford is the rising star with designs on being England's No 1". The Guardian.
  8. ^ a b c d "Trafford returns to Manchester City!". Manchester City F.C. 29 July 2025. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
  9. ^ "Accrington sign Mumbongo and Trafford". BBC Sport.
  10. ^ "James Trafford: Bolton Wanderers sign Manchester City goalkeeper". BBC Sport.
  11. ^ "'I'm just a farm boy at heart' – Wanderers keeper Trafford on his rural roots". The Bolton News. 26 January 2022.
  12. ^ "'REPORT: Wanderers 2 Cambridge Utd 0". Bolton Wanderers Official Website.
  13. ^ "Trafford Back For More". Bolton Wanderers Official Website.
  14. ^ "Trafford rejoins Bolton on loan from Man City". BBC Sport.
  15. ^ McDougall, John (16 July 2022). "Man City goalkeeper on League One return over Championship loan". Manchester Evening News.
  16. ^ a b McDougall, John (12 October 2022). "Bolton goalkeeper Trafford's impressive clean sheet haul & League One standings". Manchester Evening News.
  17. ^ a b "Trafford: Record Is A Group Effort". www.bwfc.co.uk.
  18. ^ "Cumbrian goalkeeper helps club break record". News and Star. 6 February 2023.
  19. ^ Brown, Dan (4 February 2023). "Man City goalkeeping pecking order might be set to change". Manchester Evening News.
  20. ^ "Bolton Wanderers 5–0 Milton Keynes Dons". BBC Sport.
  21. ^ "Bolton Wanderers 2–1 Port Vale". BBC Sport.
  22. ^ a b Pilnick, Brent (2 April 2023). "Bolton Wanderers 4–0 Plymouth Argyle". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  23. ^ a b Marc, Iles (23 April 2023). "Bolton Wanderers 1–0 Shrewsbury Town – Marc Iles's big match verdict". The Bolton News.
  24. ^ Marc, Iles (30 April 2023). "Liverpool teen Conor Bradley wins hat-trick of Bolton Wanderers awards". The Bolton News.
  25. ^ "Barnsley edge past Bolton to reach play-off final". BBC Sport. 18 May 2023.
  26. ^ a b "Bradley Is Season Star". Bolton Wanderers. 29 April 2023. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  27. ^ Iles, Marc (30 April 2023). "'We're not finished yet!' Prize guy Conor wants more glory in the play-offs". The Bolton News. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  28. ^ a b "Erling Haaland: Manchester City forward wins PFA men's Player of the Year award". BBC Sport. 29 August 2023. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
  29. ^ "James Trafford's thank-you message to Wanderers after play-off heroics". The Bolton News. 15 May 2023.
  30. ^ "Burnley agree £15m deal for Man City's Trafford". BBC Sport. 3 July 2023.
  31. ^ "CLARETS CAPTURE TRAFFORD". Burnley Football Club. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
  32. ^ "Burnley sign Man City's Trafford in £19m deal". BBC Sport. 20 July 2023.
  33. ^ "Report makes claim about Carlisle United cash from keeper transfer". News and Star. 17 July 2023.
  34. ^ a b "James Trafford: Man City youth product and U21 penalty hero is a future England No 1 who can shine at Burnley". Sky Sports.
  35. ^ "Cumbrian keeper makes Premier League debut against Haaland and City". News and Star. 12 August 2023.
  36. ^ "Brighton 1–1 Burnley: James Trafford's late heroics earn relegation-threatened visitors crucial point". Sky Sports.
  37. ^ "Vincent Kompany's immediate reaction to Burnley's draw at Brighton & James Trafford's solo display". 9 December 2023.
  38. ^ Whittell, Ian (17 January 2025). "James Trafford saves two penalties to rescue Burnley against Sunderland". www.thetimes.com.
  39. ^ "Cumbrian keeper stars with TWO penalty saves in one game". News and Star. 18 January 2025.
  40. ^ Unwin, Will (17 January 2025). "Burnley's Parker hails 'special' Trafford after penalty saves deny Sunderland" – via The Guardian.
  41. ^ a b "Sky Bet Championship Manager & Player of the Month January winners". www.efl.com. 7 February 2025. Retrieved 7 February 2025.
  42. ^ "Burnley: The stats behind the Clarets' 1,000 minutes without conceding". BBC Sport. 15 February 2025.
  43. ^ "JJ Watt can stay in retirement after James Trafford's clean sheet streak ends". Yahoo Sports. 4 March 2025. Retrieved 4 March 2025.
  44. ^ a b Brodie, Alex; Millar, Colin (4 March 2025). "Burnley concede after record 12 league clean sheets in a row to keep JJ Watt in NFL retirement" – via NYTimes.com.
  45. ^ a b c d "James Trafford interview: Burnley goalkeeper on clean-sheet record, JJ Watt wager and Sunderland penalty saves". Sky Sports.
  46. ^ "James Trafford's verdict on remarkable season and transfer 'noise'". Yahoo Sports. 29 April 2025.
  47. ^ "Queens Park Rangers v Burnley: Championship stats & head-to-head". BBC Sport.
  48. ^ "Championship: Leeds United and Burnley's historic title race". BBC Sport. 3 May 2025.
  49. ^ a b Stafford, Katie (29 July 2025). "Keeper Trafford returns 'home' to Man City for £27m". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
  50. ^ a b James Trafford transfer news: Man City complete deal to re-sign goalkeeper from Burnley
  51. ^ Association, The Football. "Drama in Denmark as ten-men England held to a draw by Croatia in Euro qualifying". www.thefa.com.
  52. ^ "James Trafford » Internationals". worldfootball.net.
  53. ^ "Six at SGP for MU20s". EnglandFootball.com. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
  54. ^ "Lee Carsley has made his pick for Young Lions' four games in June as they target MU21 EURO qualification". EnglandFootball.com. 25 May 2022. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
  55. ^ "Match report: Kosovo 0–5 England MU21s". EnglandFootball.com. 10 June 2022. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
  56. ^ "England MU21s squad named for EURO Finals". EnglandFootball.com. 14 June 2023. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  57. ^ a b Howell, Alex (8 July 2023). "England U21 1–0 Spain U21: England win Under-21 Euros for first time in 39 years". BBC Sport. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
  58. ^ a b Athletic, The (8 July 2023). "England vs Spain live updates". The Athletic. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
  59. ^ "Trafford has 'top mentality' to succeed – Carsley". BBC Sport. 8 July 2023.
  60. ^ Walker, Andy (24 March 2024). "England squad update: Rico Lewis and James Trafford join seniors". England Football. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
  61. ^ "England's Walker & Maguire ruled out of Belgium game". BBC Sport. 24 March 2024.
  62. ^ "England Euro 2024 squad: Marcus Rashford and Jordan Henderson left out of Gareth Southgate's provisional squad". BBC Sport. 21 May 2024.
  63. ^ "Eze & Wharton named in England squad for Euro 2024". BBC Sport. 6 June 2024. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
  64. ^ Froston, Nancy. "Rapid reflexes and pin-point distribution can take Bolton's City loanee Trafford to the top". The Athletic.
  65. ^ "'I couldn't love Bolton any more!' - James Trafford looks back at loan days". The Bolton News. 7 June 2025.
  66. ^ "Games played by James Trafford in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  67. ^ a b c "Games played by James Trafford in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  68. ^ a b "Games played by James Trafford in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
  69. ^ "Games played by James Trafford in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
  70. ^ "Games played by James Trafford in 2024/2025". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
  71. ^ Howell, Alex (8 July 2023). "England beat Spain to win Euro U21 Championship". BBC Sport. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
  72. ^ "2023 Under-21 EURO Team of the Tournament". UEFA. 11 July 2023. Retrieved 17 July 2023.
  73. ^ Ashton, Ben (27 April 2025). "Burnley's Parker and Blades' Hamer win EFL awards". BBC Sport. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
  74. ^ Cite error: The named reference EFLGoldenGlove was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to James Trafford.
Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 | Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Trafford
34 views | Status: cached on August 15 2025 05:45:42
↧ Download as ZWI file
Encyclosphere.org EncycloReader is supported by the EncyclosphereKSF