James Trafford: From farm to the final, is this England's future number one?

Burnley have agreed an initial £15m fee with Manchester City for James Trafford

James Trafford certainly did not lack confidence before England's European Under-21 Championship campaign began.

And that self-belief is sky high after keeping a record six clean sheets as England beat Spain 1-0 to win the tournament without conceding a goal.

When Spain won a penalty deep into injury time in Batumi, Abel Ruiz stepped up and Trafford saved - and kept out a rebound for good measure.

"I told everyone this morning I was going to save a penalty, I knew I was going to save it," he said.

Now 20-year-old Trafford has become Burnley's record signing.

The Premier League newcomers have agreed a deal worth £19m with Manchester City, which is beyond what the Clarets paid for striker Chris Wood in 2017.

It also makes Trafford the third-most expensive English goalkeeper ever, after Aaron Ramsdale and Jordan Pickford, and comes off the back of a successful spell on loan at Bolton in League One.

Two years ago Trafford was on loan at Accrington Stanley, yet has never doubted he will one day be England's number one.

"From the start of my men's career when I played at Accrington I told people I'd play for England, play for City," he told the Bolton News. "The people around me believe in me and I still completely believe I will."

A starring role in England's run to European glory has only added weight to the young stopper's claims.

"I want to play at the highest level possible," he told BBC Sport in Georgia. "Bolton were brilliant for me and I was good for them. I've brought the form that I ended the season with here."

'He is going to be world class'

Born into a farming family, who Trafford says he had to teach the offside rule, and learning to drive on a tractor, the goalkeeper's Cumbrian upbringing is unique among those with whom he progressed through the City academy.

Trafford signed from Carlisle aged 12 but immediately caught the eye of City and England Under-21 team-mate Cole Palmer.

"Wow. He's so good. You could see it in the academy," said Palmer. "Even in training, he's so hard to score past. I'm just glad everyone else is seeing it.

"He knows himself how good he is but he's not arrogant. He's a nice lad. He's a normal lad who believes in himself.

"When he first came, everyone was thinking, 'who's this kid?' As time went on, everyone was looking at each other, like 'wow'.

"He just goes about his business on his own. I always say to him - even when we were little - that he is going to be world class."

Palmer backs Trafford to reach the level of City's current number one, Ederson, and the Treble winners have included a buy-back option in their deal with Burnley.

But the goalkeeper has won over his international team-mates too.

"When you've got someone so confident and so good behind you, it gives you so much confidence," said Everton midfielder James Garner.

"He's a quiet person, really, but on the pitch he's so vocal, so loud and does his job to a T every single game I've played with him.

"He's said he feels like he could play in a Champions League final already, that's massive confidence for such a young keeper."

James Trafford spent last season on loan at Bolton in League One

Trafford hit the ground running at Bolton when he first joined in January last year, becoming the first goalkeeper in the club's history to keep four clean sheets in his first four games.

He added to that feat last season with a club-record nine successive home clean sheets and finished the campaign with 26 in total, being named Wanderers' young player of the year.

He has added another six shutouts to that list at the Euros and has impressed England Under-21 boss Lee Carsley in the process.

"James has shown in this tournament that he's a high-level goalkeeper. He's very consistent," said Carsley before the final.

"I think it's fair to say has been very impressive in training, and the lads have been very impressed. I'm sure he's going to have a big future ahead of him."

Carsley also believes the anticipated price tag is just something that comes with being a young English player, with Morgan Gibbs-White, Anthony Gordon and Noni Madueke among those in the squad to have commanded big fees.

"What I will say about this group of players is they seem to just take that in their stride," added Carsley.

"They're very level-headed, very humble, and it's testament to their upbringing."

A version of this article was published on 7 July before the Euro U21 final.

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