Contrasting James Trafford news emerges as Sky Sports drop Burnley FC, Newcastle United talks claim | OneFootball

Clarets goalkeeper Trafford has been a long-term target for the Magpies - is this the year they finally land him?

Burnley may have been promoted back to the Premier League at the first time of asking, but they may not return to England's top flight with their star goalkeeper James Trafford, with Newcastle United circling once more.

The Clarets - along with Leeds United - won a mammoth 100 points in last season's Championship, and quite a few of those were won thanks to the heroics of Trafford in-between the sticks.

Transfer speculation in regards to the ex-Man City man is nothing new, and the primary club interested has seemingly never changed, with Eddie Howe now seemingly ramping up his efforts to bring the 22-year-old to Tyneside.

Newcastle United make James Trafford approach as Burnley set transfer valuation

As first reported by Sky Sports, Newcastle are "in talks" to sign Trafford from Burnley, with Magpies manager Howe wanting fresh competition for Nick Pope at St. James' Park - and perhaps an undisputed new first-choice in time.

Another claim issued by Sky Sports is that the Turf Moor outfit value Trafford at £30 million, but a contrasting view has been aired by journalist Alan Nixon.

Nixon states in his own report that the Burnley hierarchy will only sell Trafford for around £40 million, which comes two years after his initial £19 million move from Man City.

Despite encountering some tough times in his debut season at Burnley in the 2023-24 Premier League season, which saw him dropped for Aro Muric, Trafford was pursued by Newcastle last summer, and last week, the stopper revealed he was close to making the move - the two clubs though could not agree a fee.

United kept their interest up in January, but yet again a deal was not done - they'll be hoping for a breakthrough this time around though for a goalkeeper that is on the fringes of the England squad and surely isn't far away from his first cap.

James Trafford, Newcastle United switch now seems inevitable thanks to Champions League qualification

It's been one of the longest-running transfer sagas in English football in recent times, but there may now finally be an end game when it comes to Trafford and Newcastle.

The Magpies clearly see him as a top goalkeeper, not just for the future but for the present as well, and there's every reason to believe based on his performances in the Championship this past season - where he conceded just 16 goals and kept 29 clean sheets - that he's banished his Premier League nightmare of 2023-24.