James Trafford recognises that holding a No 1 shirt is a necessity if he is to become England’s premier goalkeeper as a host of clubs circle the Manchester City stopper this summer.
The 23-year-old won both the FA Cup and Carabao Cup in his first season back at the Etihad Stadium but was understudy to Gianluigi Donnarumma in the bigger competitions.
Aston Villa, Newcastle United and Tottenham have held an interest in Trafford, while Juventus had been weighing up a move for somebody who cost £27million from Burnley this time last year.
Trafford has been open about the difficulties of not playing and is looking at his options ahead of next term.
‘I think history says there hasn’t been a goalie to start for any of the top nations that isn’t a No 1 at the club,’ Trafford said. ‘You never know, whether I move, whether I don’t move, I do what’s right for me and my career.
‘Just because you play for a certain club doesn’t mean that you automatically play for the national team, you have still got to show your level.
James Trafford knows that being a starting keeper is necessary to become England’s No 1
Trafford (L) re-signed for Man City last summer, but served as No 2 to Gianluigi Donnarumma
‘You have still got to perform at the highest level, and when I did move, if I would have become England’s No 1 for the tournament, it would have been brilliant.
‘I’d have been very happy, but obviously I didn’t. They obviously ended up signing Gigi, and I didn’t play the majority of the games, and that’s football.’
Trafford’s girlfriend, Lucy, has given him a care package for England’s stay at the World Cup which includes a Lego tractor to build and face masks.
There is unlikely to be a resolution to his future until after the tournament and despite limited minutes under Pep Guardiola last term, Trafford believes the experience remained valuable.
‘It’s obviously been very challenging the past season, but looking back, I’ve learned so much, I’ve developed so much,’ he added.
‘I thought I’d had a lot of experiences up to this point in my career, but this was a new experience for me in everything. It was obviously very tough.
‘Some days were harder than others, but the one thing I wanted to keep doing was keep winning the day and just improving every day, and because I kept doing that I came out the season having played a part in winning the two trophies that we did.
‘At the end of the day, I knew whenever I played I had to perform, and then as long as you perform, then everything takes care of itself.’
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