Heaven, Earth and James Trafford in a Leeds shirt — Square Ball 7/8/26

Written by: Calum Archibald

England's number... one?!

There were times in our promotion battle with Burnley (and Sheffield United, ha!) when I looked at our incumbent number one and wished we had what they had.

And now, finally, we do!

James Trafford is officially a Leeds United player and for the first time in a long time, the goalkeeper’s jersey feels like it’s sorted for the next couple of seasons and hopefully many more to come.

It’s the sort of signing that we’ve sat back and witnessed other Premier League clubs make over the years. And if I was looking at this as a neutral, I’d be a little bit baffled as to how on earth we’ve managed to pull it off.

So, what are we getting for all that money?

At 23, Trafford has been tipped as the natural successor to Jordan Pickford as England’s number one for the last couple of years, with a record-breaking, stats-busting season in Burnley’s promotion earning him a move back to Man City, despite interest from Newcastle.

Fast forward six weeks after returning to the Etihad, where he had come through City’s academy, and Gigi Donnarumma was arriving, ousting Trafford from what he thought was a season as Pep Guardiola’s first-choice ‘keeper.

Relegated to the role of back-up, with all but four of his seventeen appearances arriving in cup competitions, Trafford still excelled in his limited game time. He conceded nine goals despite facing an xG of 11.2, meaning that, in effect, he conceded 2.2 goals less than he should have statistically. For the sake of comparison, last season in the Premier League, both Karl Darlow (1.6) and Lucas Perri (2.5) conceded more goals than they should have statistically.

Add in his 24/25 record with Burnley, when he conceded just sixteen goals in 46 games, preventing 12.6 xG over the campaign, and you get the picture that Trafford is a pretty phenomenal shot stopper.

Who can forget his stand-off with Wilson Isidor, saving TWO penalties the dying moments of a promotion six-pointer – check that one out here and note the ‘housery on display from our new number one:

It’s clear that Trafford is a supremely confident goalkeeper who relishes the big moments that ‘keepers tend to face in games, whether that’s one v ones, penalties or dealing with dangerous situations.

There are, of course, some doubts that are worth addressing. Trafford’s previous Premier League campaign before last season’s four outings with Man City came in Burnley’s relegation under Vincent Kompany. He struggled at times, with a couple of high-profile errors, before being dropped with ten games to go.

But there are some mitigating factors worth considering with that season. Firstly, Trafford joined Burnley as a 20-year-old, having never played above League One, and was tending goal for a side that failed to win any of their opening six games and eventually went down on 24 points with 78 goals conceded.

There are also some valid concerns about his command of the area at times, with Trafford sometimes favouring the approach of staying on his line to back himself as a shot stopper should the situation arise, rather than being more proactive and claiming the ball.

Again, though, this is a 23-year-old keeper with three seasons worth of experience as a first-choice goalkeeper, all in different divisions, who needs a permanent landing spot to kick on.

To get a proper lowdown, I spoke with David Mooney from the Blue Moon podcast to get some Man City perspective on the move:

“We shouldn’t be selling, but we’ve obviously dropped the ball with him, and he can’t trust us now.

“But he’s miles better than Donnarumma at all the things we want from a keeper. Commands his box better, plays out better, calmer in possession and can play passes that don’t bobble around everywhere (he’s no Ederson, but who is?).

“Donnarumma might make better saves in moments and be more reliable when you need a keeper to save you unexpectedly, but Trafford for me is the better package.

“He’s made some brilliant saves at key times too (there was a sensational one last year at Brighton but because we lost and conceded after this save it gets forgotten).

“I really feel like we’ve got this backwards and should be moving heaven and earth to convince Trafford to stay as number one. A lot of his upside is potential, but I’ve no doubt he’ll achieve it.”

So why is Trafford signing for Leeds?

Because we’re bloody massive, obviously.

It’s a question being asked by everyone and I do think there is an element of luck in there for us. Trafford could well have been firmly ensconced as Newcastle’s first-choice goalkeeper had they ponied up twelve months ago before City swooped in. Then the signing of Donnarumma put the wheels in motion for Trafford to look for an exit ramp this summer.

After an FA Cup 4th Round win over Salford, Trafford said:

“It wasn’t what I expected coming into the season (being second choice). It’s the reality and I have to give it my best shot. It’s the situation I’m in. We train every day but making saves [in competitive games], it’s good fun.”

A trip to North America for the World Cup where Trafford didn’t’ even get the nod to don the gloves for the ‘Bronze Final’ game may well have further strengthened his feeling that it really is a short career and another season of being a back-up for club and country doesn’t whet his appetite.

But there are, after all, only twenty first-choice goalkeeper spots in the Premier League and he realistically only had a handful to choose from, given that City were unlikely to sell to Scum or Liverpool.

The vision the club can sell is important, too.

It’s no longer showing League One players around a state-of-the-art training ground and a vague assertion about the passion of the fanbase.

It’s a real, tangible ‘project’ that the club can sell to players. A promise of a platform where the fanbase is vociferous, you’ll be in a stable, secure side who are ready to become a firm Premier League mainstay, and the work on the stadium and surrounding areas is visible.

Football is a small world and players talk, so the positivity will be well known. Whether it’s Dominic Calvert-Lewin getting his first England call-up in years, Harry Wilson joining after a career best season or Tarik Muharemovic choosing Leeds over other Premier League clubs in European competitions, there is a clear appeal for Trafford.

It’s been a lifetime since we had a consistent presence in the Leeds United goal that we could all rely on AND we all loved. Nigel Martyn is the gold standard for Leeds fans of any age, and it’ll take some going for Trafford to get there, but this does feel like the 2026 version of that signing.

So, are we back?

United are back, United are back!

It feels that way, doesn’t it? This is the summer we needed in 2021 and 2022, the one where it feels like we’ve hit the reset button on everything that happened between 2004-2018.

Signings like these are for every punt, some c*nt on a free and Victor Orta broken toy signing that we made for so, so, so many years.

Doing the sensible thing and signing ‘known quantities’ where there’s a baseline guarantee of a certain level of performance does feel a little bit unusual and I won’t quite believe it until the season starts and things don’t immediately fall to pieces.

But as far as the summer transfer window goes, this all feels… sensible. The sort of sensible, meticulous business that makes you wonder if maybe we’re finally getting the club we deserve.

So, to quote Noel Gallagher in 1997, am I happy with that? No, I’m not! I want MORE!