Man City to re-sign James Trafford in £27m deal - sources

Manchester City have hijacked Newcastle United's move for Burnley goalkeeper James Trafford by agreeing a £27 million ($36m) deal to re-sign the England under-21 international, sources have told ESPN, two years after allowing him to leave the Etihad.

Trafford will sign a five-year contract at the Etihad with the option of a further 12 months at the end of the deal, sources have told ESPN.

Trafford, who earned a call-up into the England senior squad last year, had been the subject of a £27m bid from Newcastle this week, with the Tyneside club also prepared to offer Slovakia international Martin Dubravka as part of the deal.

However, Burnley were obliged to inform City of Newcastle's offer due to a clause in the deal that saw Trafford leave for Turf Moor in 2023, and City have decided to match the bid.

It left Trafford to decide his next move and he chose City.

James Trafford graduated from City's youth academy but did not make a senior appearance before leaving for Burnley in 2023.

Although City have maintained a long-term interest in re-signing Trafford this summer, sources have told ESPN that the club's initial plan was to offload either Éderson or Stefan Ortega before making a move for him.

But with Newcastle lodging their bid with Burnley this week, ESPN sources have said that City had no option but to accelerate their attempt to sign Trafford in order to avoid him completing a move elsewhere.

Sources have said that, with Ederson now expected to stay at the Etihad despite interest from Galatasaray, back-up goalkeeper Ortega will now be moved on to leave Ederson and Trafford to battle it out for the No. 1 spot in Pep Guardiola's team.

Having offloaded Trafford for £14m two years ago, the City hierarchy regard the deal to re-sign as ultimately costing the club just £13m.