Newcastle United are negotiating with newly promoted Burnley for long-standing goalkeeper target James Trafford, who is valued in the region of £40 million by his current club—and some fans in the Chronicle Live comments section reckon it’s the right time to prepare for a future without their existing No. 1, Nick Pope.
Trafford, 22, is highly rated by English clubs and played a huge part in Burnley’s promotion push last season as they conceded just 16 goals in a 46-match campaign. The Clarets think he could be the successor to Jordan Pickford in the England squad and have slapped a £40m price tag on their man as they prepare for life in the Premier League.
Howe will also have to mind the delicate balance of his already large goalkeeper department—Pope will want to keep playing and will have his own England ambitions, while Martin Dubravka will almost certainly not want to be a third-choice keeper. Odysseas Vlachodimos seemingly has no future at the club either.
Some fans reckon that a move for Trafford is the right decision to make this summer transfer window. Reader Salty11 says, “We absolutely do need him, or another like him. Pope has been injured over the last 2 seasons, and the other keepers are nowhere near good enough.
“Trafford can be integrated over the next season without the pressure of being No. 1 immediately, assuming Pope stays. The following season he is first choice and will be breathing down Pickford’s neck for England.”
FinntheDog urges patience: “Trafford is a top keeper; he wants to come (if you saw his antics v. Sunderland, as I did, you’d see that), and Eddie wants him. Let’s get by the financial year end when £70M drops off the PSR. If we haven’t signed anyone by the first week in July, then, yeah, I would start to get a bit fraught. But until then, patience.”
Ankles says, “If you get 8-10 years out of Trafford for £40 million, he’s worth it. On the other hand, I think we missed out on that Irish keeper [Caoimhin Kelleher] who left Liverpool for Bournemouth for a song.”
Other fans admire him but would wait another season or go after targets in other positions and shelve the search for a new keeper altogether. Axepete writes, “I don’t get the excitement. A goalkeeper is the least important signing we should be concentrating on. A center back, a right-sided attacking midfielder, and a striker should be our priority before a keeper. Trafford is a promising keeper and could become top class, but, at present, he is not as good a keeper as Pope or Dubravka.”
Caymandays says, “Trafford? Please stop with this keeper thing. Is it that no one wants to come up north, or do we need to get up to speed with wages, etc.? It seems a real issue to tempt top players so far.”
DM TOONY writes, “We should take the £40 million for Trafford and use it to buy a top midfielder and a right-winger, then if we can offload Longstaff and Willock, we can buy a center-forward to cover if Isak needs resting.”
On our Facebook page, Steve Bidnell says, “I think Trafford is one player we can afford to spend on, but we also need another goal scorer to take pressure off Isak.”
Scott Berry writes, “We don’t need to waste money on a keeper. Just keep Dubravka for another season, and then Trafford will be relegated again, so he’ll be cheaper the season after. No-brainer.”
Daniel Polley says, “He would be an important addition long term. Will fight Pope hard, though, for the No. 1 spot this season. But long-term, we could have the keeper position sewn up.”
Have your say! Is this the right time to invest in the future of Newcastle’s goalkeeping department?
Be the first to comment