James Trafford handed Manchester City exit blow as potential suitor withdraws interest | OneFootball

James Trafford faces an increasingly difficult task of finding a top-level move within the Premier League, should he decide his future already lies away from Manchester City.

The 23-year-old faces an uncertain future at the Etihad Stadium after losing his starting place under Pep Guardiola following the eleventh hour arrival of Gianluigi Donnarumma from Paris Saint-Germain in the 2025 summer transfer window.

Trafford, a Manchester City academy graduate, was brought back to the Etihad Stadium in July 2025 as director of football Hugo Viana revamped the first-team goalkeeping department amid uncertainty over the future(s) of Ederson – who went on to join Fenerbahce – and Stefan Ortega Moreno.

City allowed veteran shotstopper Scott Carson to leave at the end of his contract last summer, signing Marcus Bettinelli from Chelsea as a replacement third-choice goalkeeper. Trafford joined for £27 million to compete for the first-choice spot in goal as City entered a new era under Viana.

After impressing in pre-season and keeping a clean sheet on his Premier League debut against Wolves in August 2025, Trafford made a blunder that led to City conceding their second goal in a 2-0 defeat to Tottenham at the Etihad Stadium in the week that followed.

The England international kept his place against Brighton subsequently as Manchester City suffered another loss on the road to enter the September international break in the bottom half of the Premier League table after three matchdays.

Meanwhile, City allowed Ederson to complete a £12 million transfer to Turkey on the final day of the recent summer transfer window as they put the final touches to their pursuit of Donnarumma, who completed a £26 million transfer to the Etihad Stadium after falling out of favour at the Parc des Princes just months after spearheading the Parisiens to European glory.

Trafford has since failed to make a Premier League start for City, with Donnarumma establishing himself as the undisputed first-choice goalkeeper for Guardiola, who has rewarded the Italy international for his seamless integration to English football.

The Englishman is open to leaving Manchester City in January, though Guardiola considers the City academy graduate part of his plans and would prefer to retain his number two goalkeeper beyond the ongoing transfer window amid interest from Newcastle.

According to Mail Sport’s Craig Hope, Newcastle will not revisit a move for Trafford as it stands with a feeling that – after two failed approaches in the summers of 2024 and 2025 – the goalkeeping focus must shift elsewhere.

After Trafford re-joined Manchester City last summer – only for the club to sign Donnarumma – the arrival of the Italian led to talk of Newcastle making a renewed move for the former.

With such a circumstance described as being ‘unlikely to happen’, it is further pointed out that Trafford’s new wages at Manchester City are one issue for those at St James’ Park.