Newcastle United are set to walk away from the James Trafford pursuit as the Burnley keeper is leaning towards rejoining his former side, Manchester City.
According to Sebastian Vidal, Newcastle United are set to suffer another blow in pursuit of a key target, with the club now ready to walk away from the James Trafford chase. The Burnley stopper is leaning towards re-joining his former side, Manchester City, with Pep Guardiola keen on a new keeper.
Liverpool’s swift agreement for Hugo Ekitike was another nail in the coffin of Newcastle United’s summer business. Missing out on the Eintracht Frankfurt striker is probably the sixth player the Magpies have failed to sign in this window, and there might be a seventh on the way as the club are ready to walk away from the James Trafford chase.
There are baffling questions around their summer activity, with Eddie Howe now likely to be forced to find an alternative target for Trafford. The Tyneside outfit had been working to get the Burnley keeper for many weeks now and had been pushing to get a deal done.
However, Manchester City’s buyback clause was preventing the Magpies from advancing on James Trafford, as Pep Guardiola wanted to take a good look at his goalkeeping situation. Ederson Moraes is being linked with Galatasaray, and there is a possibility that one of the Brazilian stopper or Stefan Ortega could depart.
Manchester City had opened talks with Burnley over re-signing Trafford, and reports have pointed out that the two clubs are in talks over a fresh fee lower than the £40 million buyback clause. With Guardiola’s side now advancing, the Englishman could be Newcastle United’s seventh failed transfer move of this window.
James Trafford wants Manchester City return
Trafford wants to re-join Manchester City, as he is willing to compete for the No.1 shirt with whichever keeper stays put at the Etihad. From the sporting sense, the situation might have been similar at Newcastle United given Nick Pope is still a the club and their current first choice under Howe.
With Howe clearly targeting a move for James Trafford to bring competition for Pope, he might have to pivot to another option in the market. Whether the Newcastle United manager can find a player of a similar quality to the £40 million-rated Englishman remains to be seen.
