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James Trafford shares cryptic three-word Burnley update after agreeing personal terms at Newcastle United
Newcastle tried to sign Trafford last season and even went as far as agreeing personal terms with the goalkeeper. But meeting Burnley’s asking price was a sticking point and has proven to be the case once again this time around.
The Magpies scouted Trafford throughout the 2024/25 season as he kept 29 clean sheets in 45 matches for Burnley to help them secure an immediate return to the Premier League. In doing so, Burnley’s valuation increased further.
As revealed by The Gazette, Newcastle made contact with Burnley once again before the end of the 2024/25 season but, two months on, they have yet to settle on a fee for the 22-year-old.
Newcastle had a £27million bid rejected by Burnley last month with The Clarets holding out for in excess of £30million. As the transfer window drags on, finding a replacement or alternative to Trafford becomes more difficult though Scott Parker’s side have already signed one goalkeeper this summer in Max Weiss from Karlsruher SC.
James Trafford absent from Burnley training camp
It’s that stage of pre-season where clubs jet off abroad for training camps. Newcastle have been in Austria this week to prepare for their pre-season opener in front of a crowd at Celtic on Saturday (3pm kick-off).
Meanwhile Burnley have been in Portugal for their training camp ahead of their Premier League return. While Trafford returned to pre-season training as normal at the start of the month, there has been no sign of him on the trip.
And on social media, the goalkeeper provided a somewhat cryptic update as he posted a photo of himself in the Represent HQ gym back in Bolton, England, with the message: “On a mission.
What that mission is exactly isn’t clear but what seems clear is that he is not with the Burnley squad for the pre-season training camp. It marks the second unusual pre-season update regarding Trafford amid the Newcastle transfer speculation.
Upon returning to Burnley for pre-season training at the start of the month, Trafford did not appear to have a squad number on his new training kit. Just a coincidence, or is it expected that he won’t be Burnley’s No. 1 for much longer?
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James Trafford on Newcastle United interest
Trafford recently addressed Newcastle’s interest when speaking on the Fozcast with former Premier League goalkeeper Ben Foster.
Although he didn’t name Newcastle specifically, he did go into some detail about a transfer he was close to completing last summer.
“In the summer I think people knew I wanted to move,” he said.“The club that I was close to going, it was a good fit for me. It was brilliant for me and I really believed in it.
“I wanted to move, not just because I didn’t want to play in the Championship, I had no shame playing in the Championship. I have no ego to think I’m better than the Championship. You only prove something by performing and showing people. You can say whatever you want but unless you perform.
“It was just when an opportunity and a situation you think suits you can happen, you should take it and you should try and go for it, so I wanted to move. It was close but it didn’t end up happening.
“The manager was brilliant throughout pre-season. I wasn’t the best, I was moody because I’m young and I wanted to move, but in the moment I still worked extremely hard.
“I knew the longer it went on, the reality became I would be playing the first game of the season and I wanted to play. I told the manager I’m available if he wanted to select me. If not, I’ll sit on the bench, but I’m available. He played me the first game and that was it.”
Is history repeating itself this summer, it certainly seems that way!
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