Revealed: How James Trafford now feels about Manchester City return | OneFootball

A look into the current feeling from the side of James Trafford amid his ongoing position as Manchester City’s back-up choice goalkeeper has emerged.

Trafford has divided the Manchester City fanbase with an outspoken interview after a 2-0 FA Cup fourth round win over Salford City at the weekend, admitting that this season has been far from expectations he carried upon returning to the Etihad Stadium from Burnley last summer.

The 23-year-old has not played a single minute of Premier League action since Manchester City signed Gianluigi Donnarumma from Paris Saint-Germain on the final day of the 2025 summer transfer window as a direct replacement for Ederson, who departed for Fenerbahce on the same day.

Despite starting each of City’s opening three Premier League games, Trafford’s minutes since August 2025 have been restricted to the FA Cup, Carabao Cup and a 2-0 defeat to Bayer Leverkusen in the UEFA Champions League group-stage.

Trafford was open to leaving Manchester City in January to push for regular starts ahead of this summer’s FIFA World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico, though his chances to start ahead of Everton’s Jordan Pickford look bleak.

Guardiola wanted to keep hold of Trafford into the second half of the season as the Blues contest for silverware on four fronts, having set up a Carabao Cup final date with Arsenal for March 22 and progressed to the fifth round of the FA Cup.

City have also cut the gap to Premier League leaders Arsenal to four points after a positive run of results of late, coming from behind to seal a thrilling, late win over Liverpool at Anfield a few weeks ago before running out 3-0 winners over Fulham a day before the Gunners were held to a 1-1 draw by Brentford.

A 2-0 win over Salford City on Saturday saw Manchester City win for the fourth successive game and extend their unbeaten streak to seven games in all competitions, though Trafford’s comments have caused a stir in the fanbase and raised huge doubt over his future at the Etihad Stadium.

The Englishman outlined in his post-match interview that his game-time situation isn’t something he expected when he re-joined Manchester City from Burnley for £27 million in July 2025 – and that his boyhood club would go on to bring Donnarumma in for Ederson.

As detailed by The Athletic’s Sam Lee, those familiar with Trafford’s ongoing situation at Manchester City say the goalkeeper has been hurt by how his return to the Etihad Stadium has played out since last summer.

It is explained that at the time Trafford re-signed for the club, Donnarumma’s move from Paris Saint-Germain was not on the radar.

While Manchester City still had Ederson and Stefan Ortega Moreno on the books, and James Trafford said to have been confident he could soon become first choice under Guardiola, the Englishman was never given any assurances on such a possibility.