Erling Haaland and Morgan Rogers react as Leeds United finally announce James Trafford | OneFootball

Leeds United have finally confirmed the signing of James Trafford from Manchester City on Thursday evening.

According to Leedsunited.news, Leeds are paying an initial £40m with a further £5m in add-ons, taking the total to £45m. The fee is a club record, makes him the most expensive English goalkeeper and the fourth costliest in the position, eclipsing the £35.5m paid for Georginio Rutter in January 2023.

Trafford had been seen on media duties at Elland Road earlier on Thursday, yet fans had waited a fortnight for the announcement. Relief and excitement followed as Leeds confirmed the deal, with the club initially poking fun at Fabrizio Romano after he named him John rather than James.

Posting on Instagram for the first time as a Leeds player, Trafford wrote: “Marching on Together, let’s do something special.”

Responses arrived quickly. Former team-mate Morgan Rogers, now Chelsea’s £117m record signing, replied “good luck bro”, and Manchester City’s record arrival Elliot Anderson echoed the message.

Leeds-born Erling Haaland, a Leeds fan through his father Alf Inge’s spell at Elland Road and Manchester City, also commented, writing: “Good luck brother, let’s gooooo.”

The England goalkeeper, capped twice, has signed a five-year contract to 2031, becoming Leeds’ third summer addition after Harry Wilson and Tarik Muharemovic. He will be available for selection when Leeds face fellow Red Bull club Leipzig at Elland Road on Saturday. Their Premier League campaign starts on 22 August at Nottingham Forest.

Source: Leedsunited.news

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”