"£30m would be a great sum" - Burnley FC: James Trafford claim issued amid Tottenham interest | OneFootball

FLW's Burnley fan pundit has been discussing Tottenham's reported interest in Trafford, if he's ready for the move, and his potential transfer value.

Burnley have been told to hold out for more than the £20 million deal Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly lining up for goalkeeper James Trafford when the January transfer window opens.

Spurs are understood to have placed Trafford on their transfer shortlist for the winter window, which would see the England youth international make his return to the Premier League in a possible eight-figure deal.

But, is the 22-year-old shotstopper ready to make the step back up to top-flight level? And what sort of transfer fee should it take for Burnley to consider cashing in?

We put those very questions to our Clarets fan pundit Will Lancaster, in an attempt to perhaps find out what the feeling is regarding this storyline around Turf Moor...

Spurs told to avoid January transfer for Burnley goalkeeper James Trafford

Speaking in response to our Trafford-related questions, Lancaster told FLW: "I'm quite unsure if James Trafford would be ready for a step-up back to the Premier League.

"Obviously, he had his struggles there last season, and was eventually replaced by Aro Muric towards the end of the campaign. Muric is struggling in his own right at Ipswich this season, and Trafford's really benefited from half a year in the Championship.

"I don't think he'd be the right solution for Tottenham right now. Maybe another year in the Championship would do him the world of good, but I can see why they'd be interested in signing him.

"Burnley have the meanest defence in the second tier, he's young, he's English, he's trained with England ahead of the Euros as sort of a work experience deal to prolong his development."

Discussing the sort of price-tag Burnley should place on Trafford, Lancaster added: "That could also work in Burnley's hands, and I think with Trafford having so much potential and being such a rock for them this season, having paid £15m rising to potentially £19m, that transfer fee should really be doubled at the very minimum.

"I think £30m would be a great sum of money for a club of our size. But again, it's whether Alan Pace and Scott Parker think that James Trafford can bring more in the future.

"If Burnley do go up, strengthen well and they stay up and Trafford continues to shine in the league, there's no reason why they couldn't ask for more."

Burnley will surely want to have replacement lined up before sanctioning any James Trafford sale

Should Burnley land somewhere between £20-30m for Trafford in January, there's no doubting that such a cash injection could provide the platform for the Clarets to go and really bolster their promotion credentials with some new additions in the winter window.

However, it of course would come with the caveat of losing their number one goalkeeper, and the options that are currently at Parker's disposal to replace Trafford may not be deemed capable of filling his gloves.

Vaclav Hladky is the clear number two goalkeeper at Turf Moor this season, and the 34-year-old was in goal for every single one of Ipswich Town's Championship fixtures last season, which would ultimately see the Tractor Boys win automatic promotion to the Premier League.

However, despite finishing third in the Championship behind West Brom's Alex Palmer (18) and Leeds' Illan Meslier (18) for clean sheets with 14, his 66.9 per cent save percentage ranked him in the bottom 42 per cent of Championship goalkeepers last season - per FotMob.

He's made just two appearances for Burnley so far this season, which came in a 5-0 routing of Cardiff City in the Championship, and a 2-0 loss to Wolves in the Carabao Cup.

Behind him is third-choice option Etienne Green. The 24-year-old Frenchman joined from Saint-Etienne in the summer window, but is yet to make his debut for the Clarets, and could be in need of a loan move elsewhere in January.

Therefore, in order to feel comfortable cashing in on your number one goalkeeper at the halfway point of a Premier League promotion push, Burnley's decision makers will surely want to either be certain they have a replacement lined up, or have total confidence in one of their in-house options.