1 | James Trafford - 2025/26

paulchapo said:
He's just signed and he's only 22 and still learning his trade, what's all this leaving bollocks? What if Donnarumma gets injured? Also how long will Donnarumma be here for? He has a habit of moving on i think Courtois at Madrid is 33 now so they may come in for him in a year or two and if they do i reckon he'd push to leave. Trafford would be 24 with two more years experience and probably ready to step up then. He was always going to be number 2 this year if Ederson had stayed. If we're successful he could win trophies here and possibly play in the league and fa cup finals too. Where is he going to move to a better club?
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He’s already sat on the bench and learned from others though. He then went on loan/was sold to play regularly. He’s not going to then sit on the bench for two years or only play in cup games.

He’s not going to move to a better club, but he’d be starting every week and probably be in the England squad.
 
Reading the reports of him potentially forcing a move and I understand completely.

The reality of it is that he was likely going to be backup to Ederson this year with an eye on Ederson leaving in 2026 and Trafford taking over. Obviously Donnarumma nuked that idea and isn't going anywhere especially with being 26.

Hope he gets a decent move that works out for him. The talent is there but he is nowhere near Gigi right now. Not a knock on him, just an honest assessment.
 
Lot of smoke about him leaving in Jan. Does feel increasingly clear that he didn't know about Donnarumma coming in after him
 
Feel for him in a professional sense. Come back with a proper good chance of being number one then we go and sign the best keeper in the world. Hard luck for the kid, and wouldnt surprise me if he leaves in Jan, most likely on loan, but doubt a permanent switch away will be too far behind.
 
mancityscot said:
Feel for him in a professional sense. Come back with a proper good chance of being number one then we go and sign the best keeper in the world. Hard luck for the kid, and wouldnt surprise me if he leaves in Jan, most likely on loan, but doubt a permanent switch away will be too far behind.
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A loan would be best. I'm thinking an 18 month loan and we reassess then. Meanwhile Ortega can stay on as the number 2 this year and we sign a new number 2 for next year. I'm not selling Trafford any time soon with the exception being it's tied to attaining a top young outfield player like Anderson or Wharton...
 
JewelZee said:
A loan would be best. I'm thinking an 18 month loan and we reassess then. Meanwhile Ortega can stay on as the number 2 this year and we sign a new number 2 for next year. I'm not selling Trafford any time soon with the exception being it's tied to attaining a top young outfield player like Anderson or Wharton...
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Thing is those kind of long term loan deals rarely happen these days.

They tend to be structured as a sale with a built in buy-back, just like JT’s previous deal with Burnley.

Gives the other Club a bit more purchase in the deal, to warrant the time and energy they put into developing the player.

I can definitely see us agreeing a sale in January with a buy-back triggered from summer ‘27.

Challenge will be - the more ambitious Clubs who JT would likely consider (Newcastle, Villa, Brighton, etc) will be less inclined to agree to a buy-back, and he probably won’t want to go to the kind of Clubs who will - given that’s exactly where he’s just come from.

In the best interests of the player though, he absolutely needs to leave us to develop his game at the top.

He just won’t get the high pressure minutes he needs to properly mature as a player at City.
 
Nicholas van Whatsisface said:
Thing is those kind of long term loan deals rarely happen these days.

They tend to be structured as a sale with a built in buy-back, just like JT’s previous deal with Burnley.

Gives the other Club a bit more purchase in the deal, to warrant the time and energy they put into developing the player.

I can definitely see us agreeing a sale in January with a buy-back triggered from summer ‘27.

Challenge will be - the more ambitious Clubs who JT would likely consider (Newcastle, Villa, Brighton, etc) will be less inclined to agree to a buy-back, and he probably won’t want to go to the kind of Clubs who will - given that’s exactly where he’s just come from.

In the best interests of the player though, he absolutely needs to leave us to develop his game at the top.

He just won’t get the high pressure minutes he needs to properly mature as a player at City.
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All fair points. Maybe a 6 month loan in January and defer any major decisions until the Summer.
I am loathe to move Trafford on at the present : )
 
If (and it surely has to be a big If with the games coming thick and fast now) he does go out in January then will oretega be fit to come back as back up keeper? Has he even been training with us?
 
Gaz76 said:
If (and it surely has to be a big If with the games coming thick and fast now) he does go out in January then will oretega be fit to come back as back up keeper? Has he even been training with us?
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He’s being paid(very well) so I expect so. He’ll also look to impress as he’s out of contract so I’ve no problem with him on that front. My problem with Ortega is that he was shit last season, Arsenal away in particular
 
Cheadle_hulmeBlue said:
He’s already sat on the bench and learned from others though. He then went on loan/was sold to play regularly. He’s not going to then sit on the bench for two years or only play in cup games.

He’s not going to move to a better club, but he’d be starting every week and probably be in the England squad.
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Yeah this has NOT looked good from a planning perspective from the club.
I understand that the situation with Donnarumma was a little left field - but it was always a possibility this summer.
We should have loaned Trafford again before selling imho - then it wouldn't look quite so poor.
Needs to move in January to get back in the england squad but don't see us sectioning it
 
Blue Hefner said:
He’s being paid(very well) so I expect so. He’ll also look to impress as he’s out of contract so I’ve no problem with him on that front. My problem with Ortega is that he was shit last season, Arsenal away in particular
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Agree on the not rating him mate, never really felt comfortable when he was in net, I imagine he will be keeping fit but there's been no sign of him on any training pics all season so I'm not even sure if he's still around
 
Gaz76 said:
Agree on the not rating him mate, never really felt comfortable when he was in net, I imagine he will be keeping fit but there's been no sign of him on any training pics all season so I'm not even sure if he's still around
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Oh right. Maybe he’s on half the money and been told to do one. Essentially paying up his contract. Who knows
 
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