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Newcastle eye a move for James Trafford

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Image for Newcastle eye a move for James Trafford

According to Football Insider, Newcastle United are set to battle Liverpool for the signing of Burnley goalkeeper James Trafford this summer.

Newcastle United will be looking to continue their ambitious project with a successful transfer window this summer, and Eddie Howe likely hopes to improve his squad’s depth after a difficult campaign.

While there has been a vast improvement in competitiveness and consistency in performances since the Saudi takeover, a lack of depth in the squad has resulted in the Newcastle boss having to down-tool and compromise on quality in his starting line-ups due to non-stop injury issues throughout.

In fact, the Magpies came out as first in losing total days to injuries in the Premier League this season with a whopping 1,950 days lost in total from multiple injuries occurring many of them being long-term or season-ending issues.

As a result, it will come as no surprise the club are keen to reinvest in the squad again this summer and will look to add more options to rotate into the team to not only relieve the first team from the pressures of congested fixtures but also give Howe options to work with for different scenarios from the bench.

On Monday, Football Insider reported that Newcastle will battle Liverpool for the signing of Burnley youngster James Trafford and the North East have already registered their interest.

As per the publication, Trafford would be considered as a second choice option off the bench for both Liverpool and Newcastle, with the latter very happy with the services of Nick Pope at present.

Should Newcastle sign James Trafford?

There is no doubt that Trafford would be a great back-up option for the Magpies, especially considering that the club’s current number two – Martin Dubravka – only has one year left on his contract on Tyneside.

The 21-year-old has recently been called up to Gareth Southgate’s Euro 2024 provisional England squad after his campaign with Burnley in the Premier League this season, a season that has ended with failure as they dropped back to the Championship.

Despite an ill-fated campaign which saw Burnley concede a whopping 78 goals over the 38 fixtures, Trafford did manage to make 106 saves to the 166 shots he faced over his 28 league appearances, as per FotMob.

Indeed, a young and upcoming goalkeeper like Trafford could be exactly what Newcastle need to replace Dubravka on the bench at St James’ Park, but when looking at the club’s strict budget and tight FFP rules requiring them to be frugal in their spending, it might not be the brightest idea.

The Daily Mail have also picked up on the interest in Trafford and claim that it would cost the Tynesiders upwards of £20m to secure the shot-stopper’s signature this summer, a transfer fee they are unlikely to meet for a back up keeper.

With that being said, it will be interesting to see if Newcastle prioritise the signing of a back up goalkeeper over other heavily decimated areas of the pitch that could use some quality depth ahead of next season.

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