James Trafford is the rising star with designs on being England’s No 1
In years gone by James Trafford has spent chunks of the off-season surrounded by livestock, sitting on a combine harvester or shifting hay bales on the family farm in Greysouthen, a village on the edge of the Lake District. But, this summer, he has not been helping his parents but preserving England’s impeccable defensive record at the European Under-21 Championship.
The semi-final final on Wednesday against Israel in Batumi, Georgia, will be his 57th game across the past 12 months and a year that started with the goalkeeper lining up in League One on loan at Bolton Wanderers is expected to end with a £19m move to the Premier League newcomers Burnley. And hopefully a winners’ medal to boot.
England’s squad is decorated with high-profile Premier League talents such as Noni Madueke, Morgan Gibbs-White, Anthony Gordon, an attacking trio who switched clubs last season for a combined fee of more than £100m, and Levi Colwill, another 20-year-old with a burnishing reputation. But Trafford, who has been on the books of Manchester City since signing from Carlisle United aged 12, has been the breakthrough performer. England are yet to concede at the tournament, with Trafford making a raft of eye-catching saves.
Trafford, who learned to drive by taking the tractor through barley fields at home in Cumbria, spent the past couple of years furthering his education on loan in the third tier. First with Accrington Stanley as an 18-year-old and then Bolton, where he has spent the last season and a half, setting a record of nine straight home clean sheets along the way. His first loan was challenging, if not character-building, after an injury and losing his place as first-choice goalkeeper.
“When you take young goalkeepers on loan you accept
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