When James Trafford arrived back at Manchester City in June for a fee of about £30m, he would have been hoping to emerge as the club's number-one goalkeeper. And he started this season in that role, featuring in City's first three Premier League games of the campaign. Donnarumma has played 30 matches for City since then, with Trafford having had to settle for domestic cup games - plus one Champions League appearance. After keeping a clean sheet in the FA Cup fourth-round win over Salford City on Saturday, Trafford admitted the current situation is not what he had imagined. Trafford played 45 games last season as Burnley won promotion to the Premier League, conceding just 16 goals in the Championship in the process.

Source: BBC February 14, 2026 20:37 UTC