James Trafford, 22, a product of City\u2019s academy, left the club in July 2023 to join Burnley in a deal reportedly valued at up to \u00a319 million with add-ons.<\/p>\n
He impressed last season under manager Scott Parker, helping the Clarets secure promotion to the Premier League with 29 clean sheets in 45 Championship matches. He was later named in the division\u2019s Team of the Season.<\/p>\n
City had a buy-back clause and matching rights in Trafford\u2019s previous deal and opted to exercise their rights after Newcastle United submitted a \u00a327 million bid for the goalkeeper. Trafford chose to return to City, where he is expected to sign a five-year contract with an option for a sixth year.<\/p>\n
The England Under-21 international will become City\u2019s fourth-choice goalkeeper behind Ederson, Stefan Ortega, and Marcus Bettinelli, although he is expected to challenge Ederson for the number one spot.<\/p>\n
Ederson, who has held the starting role for the past eight years, is in the final year of his contract and has been linked with a move to Galatasaray. However, the Brazilian dismissed the reports in June, saying the rumours were \u201c99% fake news.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n No formal offers have been received for Ederson so far, but Ortega\u2019s future at the club is also in doubt due to limited playing time.<\/p>\n Trafford joined City\u2019s academy in 2015 but never made a senior appearance for the club. He had loan spells at Accrington Stanley and Bolton Wanderers before moving to Burnley.<\/p>\n If confirmed, he will be Manchester City\u2019s sixth signing of the summer transfer window following the arrivals of Tijjani Reijnders (\u00a346.5m), Rayan Cherki (\u00a330.45m), Sverre Nypan (\u00a312.5m), Rayan A\u00eft-Nouri (\u00a331m), and Marcus Bettinelli (nominal fee).<\/p>\n City also spent \u00a3200 million in the January window to cover injury concerns.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Arsenal are expected to complete the signing of Swedish striker Viktor Gyokeres from Sporting Lisbon this weekend.<\/p>\n BBC Sport reports that a \u00a363.5 million deal is close to being finalised, with only negotiations over add-ons delaying the announcement.<\/p>\n The 27-year-old has been cleared to travel for his medical and is expected to sign a five-year contract.<\/p>\n Gyokeres scored 54 goals in 52 games for Sporting last season and helped the club win back-to-back Primeira Liga titles.<\/p>\n He previously played for Brighton and Coventry City, where he scored 43 goals in 116 appearances and earned a place in the Championship Team of the Season for 2022-2023.<\/p>\n He has 26 caps for Sweden and has scored 15 goals since making his debut in 2019.<\/p>\n Note that Arsenal turned their focus to Gyokeres after a failed attempt to sign Benjamin Sesko from RB Leipzig. The Gunners are currently on their pre-season tour in Singapore.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n