James Trafford set to join Leeds as Farke seeks new goalkeeper
Leeds United have turned their search for a new goalkeeper towards Manchester, and James Trafford now sits firmly at the top of Daniel Farke’s wishlist.
Talks are under way with Manchester City over a move for the 23-year-old, with Trafford emerging as Leeds’ priority target after a summer of upheaval in the goalkeeping department. Karl Darlow, who finished last season as the club’s No.1, has left for Manchester United on a free transfer, while long-serving Illan Meslier has joined Arsenal.
That double departure has ripped out Leeds’ established hierarchy. It has also opened the door for Trafford, who, according to The Athletic, is now the club’s preferred choice to become their new first-choice goalkeeper.
Crucially, the feeling is mutual. Despite serious interest from Newcastle United, the City keeper is understood to be leaning towards Elland Road as his next destination. Newcastle pushed hard for Trafford last summer before he opted to return to City from Burnley, but the landscape has shifted.
Trafford went back to the Etihad believing he would step into the No.1 role, with Ederson heading to Fenerbahce. It looked like a clear pathway. Then came Gianluigi Donnarumma late in the window, and Trafford’s route to the starting XI suddenly narrowed.
He spent the 2025/26 season as City’s back-up, officially the No.2. The minutes still came – 17 appearances in all competitions – and he played his part in a trophy-laden campaign, helping City lift both the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup. Yet the underlying frustration never really disappeared.
In February, Trafford admitted that life as a deputy “wasn’t what I expected” and that he had “tried to guard against the situation happening”. The message was clear: he wants to play, and he wants to play every week.
That is exactly what Leeds are offering. A genuine No.1 role. A Premier League platform. A chance to anchor a side that desperately needs a commanding presence behind it going into the 2026/27 campaign.
Farke does still have options on the books. Lucas Perri, signed from Lyon on a four-year deal last summer, remains in place as the current second-choice, while Alex Cairns provides depth as the third keeper. But neither signing nor structure changes the reality: Leeds need a new first-choice, and they want someone who arrives ready-made for that responsibility, not as a project.
Trafford fits that profile. Before his City return, he was Burnley’s undisputed No.1 for two seasons, the cornerstone of a defence that conceded just 16 goals in 46 Championship matches in 2024/25. That kind of record does not go unnoticed. Nor does his rapid rise at international level.
The Cockermouth-born stopper made his England debut in March, collecting the first of his two senior caps, and travelled with Thomas Tuchel’s squad to the World Cup this summer. For a player still only 23, the experience column already looks impressive.
Newcastle, sensing Trafford’s preference for Leeds, have started to move on to other targets. Eddie Howe’s recruitment team are now assessing alternatives, including Parma’s Zion Suzuki and Brighton’s Carl Rushworth, as they look to strengthen their own goalkeeping department.
Leeds, meanwhile, see an opportunity they cannot afford to waste: a young, Premier League-ready, England international goalkeeper, frustrated by a back-up role at a superclub and eager to plant his flag as a No.1.
If they get this over the line, Trafford will arrive at Elland Road with medals in his bag, caps on his CV and a point to prove. For a club rebuilding its spine at the top level, that is exactly the kind of edge they need between the posts.
