James Trafford gives go-ahead for next club as Manchester City enter formal talks over sale | OneFootball

Leeds United are in negotiations with Manchester City for goalkeeper James Trafford, with the England international preferring a move to Elland Road this summer, as per a new report.

Trafford returned to the Etihad Stadium last summer in a deal worth £27 million from Burnley but the 23-year-old has found regular first-team football difficult to come by in Manchester, with Gianluigi Donnarumma firmly established as the undisputed number one under new manager Enzo Maresca.

Trafford played a bit-part role in England’s FIFA World Cup campaign in North America, with the Three Lions finishing third in the tournament, and now returns from his post-tournament break to face a defining conversation about his club future.

Leeds United find themselves in urgent need of goalkeeping reinforcement heading into the 2026-27 Premier League campaign, with first-choice Karl Darlow having departed for Manchester United and Illan Meslier joining Arsenal on a free transfer, leaving Daniel Farke with only Lucas Perri and 33-year-old Alex Cairns as senior options between the sticks.

That context has made Trafford one of Elland Road’s most persistent transfer targets throughout the summer window, with Leeds’s 49ers Enterprises ownership group understood to have significant funds available following a net spend that remains below £20 million at this stage of the summer.

Report: Trafford leans towards Leeds move as formal Man City talks begin

According to David Ornstein of The Athletic, Leeds United are in active talks with Manchester City over a deal to sign Trafford, with the goalkeeper himself leaning towards making the move to Elland Road.

The report represents a meaningful escalation of what had been a long-running interest from Leeds, with a series of prior updates having confirmed the club’s admiration for Trafford without producing the clarity over his destination that Ornstein’s account now provides.

City are understood to be open to offers for Trafford, with the goalkeeper available for the right price given that a pathway to regular first-team football at the Etihad Stadium is no longer realistic while Donnarumma remains fit and in form.

Reports have placed City’s valuation of the England international at between £35 million and £40 million, with some sources suggesting the figure could be as high as £50 million depending on the structure of any deal.

Newcastle United, Aston Villa and Tottenham had also credited with interest in Trafford, but the involvement of Leeds in formal talks – combined with Trafford’s apparent personal inclination towards Elland Road – suggests the race for his signature is narrowing considerably as the summer window approaches its most decisive phase.

What does Trafford’s move to Leeds mean for Man City?

The near-certain departure of Trafford would leave Manchester City with veteran Marcus Bettinelli as the obvious backup to Donnarumma as things stand- a situation that will prompt director of football Hugo Viana to consider whether a further senior goalkeeping option is required as part of the squad rebuild.

City paid £27 million for Trafford last summer with the intention of developing a long-term successor to Donnarumma, but the Italian’s sustained excellence since arriving from Paris Saint-Germain has significantly compressed the timeline within which that succession might realistically occur, making Trafford’s desire for regular first-team football entirely understandable in the context of a 23-year-old at a crucial stage of his development.

Whether the fee negotiations can be concluded swiftly enough to allow Trafford to join Leeds’s pre-season preparations before they conclude in the United States remains the key logistical question, but with talks confirmed and the player’s preference apparently established, the direction of travel on one of the summer’s most closely watched goalkeeper stories now appears clear.