Burnley clinch signing of Manchester City & ex-Bolton Wanderers goalkeeper

The 20-year-old joins the Clarets for an undisclosed fee and becomes the club’s second signing of the week after Basel forward Zeki Amdouni joined on Wednesday.

The goalkeeper has penned a four-year deal with Vincent Kompany’s side.

Trafford recently starred as England won the Under-21 European Championships, saving a last-gasp penalty in the final win against Spain to ensure he didn’t concede a single goal all tournament.

Kompany spoke of his delight at sealing Trafford’s capture, speaking of his quality as both a player and a person.

"We’ve signed an extremely talented young man. More than just a talent, he’s a great character,” he told the club's official website.

"James is a very impressive, confident mature young man. Most people have seen what he’s achieved in his career so far and his level of talent.

"We’re looking forward to developing that even further, making him even better. He’s done so much already and what excites us is how far he can go."

The former Accrington Stanley and Bolton loanee is the second goalkeeper to arrive this summer, following in the footsteps of Lawrence Vigouroux from Leyton Orient.

The Cumbrian-born stopper turned out for Cockermouth and Carlisle United as a youngster before signing for Man City at the age of 12.

He leaves without making a senior appearance for Pep Guardiola’s side, but he has enjoyed loan spells in League One with Accrington Stanley and Bolton Wanderers.

His first taste of senior men’s football came with Stanley during the first half of the 2020/21 campaign, before making the switch to Bolton in the January of the season.

He linked up with Ian Evatt’s men for a second time the following season, helping the Trotters win the EFL Trophy while finishing in the League One play-offs.

Trafford made 52 appearances in total and kept an impressive 26 clean sheets, which broke the club’s record for shutouts in a single season.

At one point in Bolton’s campaign Trafford kept nine clean sheets on the spin.

The goalkeeper becomes Burnley’s sixth addition of the summer, following in the footsteps of Amdouni, Jordan Beyer, Michael Obafemi, Dara O’Shea, Lawrence Vigouroux.