Story by Iñigo Lecea,Calum Roche
The pressure on James Trafford’s shoulders is immense. This summer, he became the most expensive British goalkeeper in history, as well as Leeds United’s record signing. The 23-year-old English goalkeeper, who joined from Manchester City, made his preseason debut against Manchester United and produced an excellent performance. He then impressed again in Leeds’ next friendly, a 4-0 win over Augsburg. Ninety minutes, no goals conceded.
Against United, the goalkeeper, born in 2002, played only 45 minutes, but that was enough time to prevent Michael Carrick’s team from running up the score. There was little he could do about United’s goal, with Joshua Zirkzee left alone around the penalty spot before finishing superbly to make it 1-0. But Trafford had already denied the Dutch striker what looked certain to be another goal, producing an excellent save from his volley inside the box.
Diogo Dalot also tested him with a long-range effort, although it was a relatively straightforward stop. Trafford’s best save came with United already 1-0 ahead. The ball fell to Bryan Mbeumo near the penalty spot and he fired a low left-footed shot toward the goalkeeper’s left corner, but Trafford somehow got a hand to it to prevent the score becoming 2-0.
e also looked very assured when coming off his line, both to deal with high balls and attacks along the ground, without making a mistake. But perhaps the most impressive part of his performance was his distribution. Trafford continually played both short and long, completing 94% of his passes in his own half and effectively operating outside his penalty area whenever Leeds had possession. It is an encouraging aspect of his game that Daniel Farke will surely look to exploit during the Premier League season.
Against German side Augsburg, Trafford continued in the same composed vein. The English goalkeeper has been among the standout performers for Premier League clubs during preseason, with his displays contrasting sharply with Gianluigi Donnarumma’s poor showing against Arsenal in the Community Shield. Donnarumma looked uncertain and was even at fault for the Gunners’ second goal.
Trafford is already giving Leeds supporters plenty of reason for optimism – and England may also have found its next great goalkeeper.
