New Bayern Munich manager Vincent Kompany has asked the club to throw their hat in the ring to sign Burnley goalkeeper James Trafford.
Kompany achieved promotion to the Premier League with the Clarets last summer but could not keep up with the pace of the English football top flight division. They are back down and the Belgian has moved on to Bayern Munich, in what many have described as “failing upwards”.
He is currently settling in and planning his squad for the 2024/25 German football league season and is working with the team’s directors to get the players he wants in.
One of them, according to reports, is the goalkeeper he worked with at Burnley for two seasons – James Trafford.
As a relegated team, the Clarets are expected to sell a number of their players for their squad building purposes as they prepare to take on the rigorous EFL Championship next season. Trafford, as one of their most-prized assets, is garnering a lot of good press with Liverpool and Newcastle United among those interested in the 21-year-old.
Despite sitting out the last ten games of the season, his stick still remains high and the £19 million-rated Manchester City youth product could find himself in the biggest club in Germany.
Burnley are looking for £20 million for Trafford. The rest will be up to the interested clubs.
Trafford will also have to evaluate his choices as it is clear that Liverpool and Newcastle are only interested in having him as a backup goalkeeper. Both Alisson Becker and Nick Pope are the first choice at both clubs for the foreseeable future and Trafford will come in to understudy them.
At Bayern, he could be fast tracked to number 1 as legendary goalkeeper Manuel Neuer is believed to be closer to retirement than ever.
It will be a strange deal for Die Rekordmeister to complete if it goes through and it will mark a big shift in the trajectory of English football, who is seeing more and more of their talents choose foreign leagues.
Trafford is not the only goalkeeper on their sights, however.
The Bavarians have their sights set on Andriy Lunin of Real Madrid, who just won the UEFA Champions League and made the team of the season.
He is still second choice to Thibaut Courtois despite his strong performances in the season. He could consider leaving after proving his worthiness and Bayern are attentive to this fact.
