With BBC Sport reporting that Burnley have agreed a £15m deal for Manchester City goalkeeper James Trafford which could rise to £19m in add-ons, City will not be the only club benefitting from the transfer…
League One newcomers Carlisle United will also be receiving a proportion of the fee for their former academy player, a fee which could greatly help them in their return to League One following a nine-year hiatus.
The 20-year-old is currently on international duty with England at the Europeans Under-21 Championships and is yet to concede a goal in the competition. With England now in the semi-finals, the youngster is really proving the promise that he has shown over the last two seasons and looks set to land a big money move to another Premier League side this summer.
The goalkeeper’s chances of gaining a starting spot are far higher at Turf Moor than at the Etihad and it is only a matter of time before we see Trafford between the sticks in the top-flight. The Cumbrian has come a long way in such a short space of time and at just 20 years of age, he has plenty more to come and is already being heralded as England’s future number one.
Who is James Trafford?
The goalkeeper is now impressing on the world stage and is set for stardom in the Premier League but he wouldn’t start his career in a Premier League club’s youth academy but with Carlisle United instead. From the small market town of Cockermouth, just 25 miles South of Carlisle, the choice to join the Cumbrians made a lot of sense given there were no other youth teams nor academies in the EFL which were in range for Trafford. The youngster would leave Carlisle as a 12-year-old in 2015, signing for Premier League heavyweights Manchester City, and has been with the citizens ever since.
Although he is yet to make a senior appearance for the seven-time Premier League winners, Trafford has shown exceptional promise in recent years, and has been capped by England from the under-17s up to the under-21s. The 20-year-old first experienced senior football through a loan to Accrington Stanley for the first half of the 2021-2022 season, before joining Bolton Wanderers for the second half of the year. He was so impressive for Bolton, that they managed to retain his services for another season, where he played at his highest level to date.
Trafford would make 47 appearances for the Wanderers in League one and the play-offs last year, conceding just 36 times and keeping 22 clean sheets. During that time he made 133 saves, resulting in a league-high 79% save percentage. Playing Premier League football for Burnley would no doubt be a significant step-up, but one which Trafford should take in his stride.
How does the transfer benefit Carlisle?
Although he would leave the Cumbrians as a 12-year-old, Carlisle will still be receiving a fee from Manchester City following his departure from Brunton Park in 2015. Around the time of his departure, the Premier League’s Elite Player Performance Plan (EPPP) was just taking off. The EPPP is a long term strategy to develop homegrown players through a player-led approach. Joining Manchester City would only accelerate Trafford’s growth, so it was a move which made sense and Carlisle will now benefit from the goalkeeper’s transfer. Although it is not understood to be a sizeable amount, it will still greatly help the Cumbrian side, who operate on one of the smallest budgets in League One. Even if it is only a small percentage of the fee, it will be of great aid to the Blues in both the summer transfer window, as well as future windows.
What’s been said?
At the recent annual fan forum, News and Star reporter Jon Colman communicated the words of Carlisle’s chief executive Nigel Clibbens regarding the potential sale of Trafford, amongst other former academy players. Clibbens said:
“On James Trafford, he went around the time of EPPP [the Elite Player Performance Plan], so the deal was determined around that – there are specific rules and percentages on what you get. So we get a small percentage from him.
“Even at big, double-digit millions, it’s not going to help us too much. It would be welcome, and would help with transfer budgets and things like that, but isn’t going to give us a mountain of cash to do everything we’ve talked about.”
“It might help us go some way to solve some problems but isn’t going to solve them on their own.”
Although Clibbens has stated that the fees will not be revolutionary for the club, they will go a long way in helping Carlisle improve their squad for their first season in the third tier for nine years. However Trafford isn’t the only former Cumbrian star who could be on the move this summer, with two other current Premier League players potentially moving on in the window.
What other potential transfers could benefit Carlisle?
Trafford is just one of three potential deals which could benefit the Cumbrians this summer, with two other former players linked with big money moves. On the other side of Manchester goalkeeper Dean Henderson, another Carlisle academy product, has been linked with a move away from Old Trafford. Henderson has frequently been linked with a move to Nottingham Forest, who he spent the 2022/23 season on loan with and like Trafford, the potential transfer could boost the Cumbrians budget. The 26-year-old’s move would be similar, through the fact that Carlisle will only receive a small proportion of the fee, but nonetheless it will be more welcomed money to improve the club’s financial situation.
There is one more potential sale this summer which could benefit the Blues with Everton defender Jarrad Branthwaite linked with a permanent move to PSV following a highly successful loan spell with the Eredivise club last season. Like Trafford, Branthwaite is also currently at the under-21 European Championships, playing the full 90 minutes in England’s 2-0 win against Germany in the group stage. Although it is seems somewhat unlikely that the 21-year-old will leave Goodison Park this summer, it is a move which could happen, especially if the youngster wants more game time. Of the three, the defender would bring the most money to Brunton Park and although the percentage has not been disclosed for legal reasons, Clibbens has inferred that a potential transfer would seriously help the club out.
How has Carlisle’s transfer window gone so far?
The Blues have been fairly quiet in the window so far, but have completed three signings in the last week. They’ve signed Alfie McCalmont from Leeds, Jack Robinson from Middlesbrough and Ben Barclay from Stockport County, all who were with the club on loan last season. As recent as yesterday, manager Paul Simpson stated that the club had a player in the building who had completed a medical, but left the building before signing a contract after a more lucrative offer elsewhere. Simpson did not disclose who the player was, but it is somewhat of a blow for the Cumbrians. Although Trafford’s sell-on fee isn’t ‘transformational’ for the club, it will certainly help the club attract more players this summer. Simpson, who managed the England under-20s to World Cup glory in 2017 has a track record of nurturing young talent, so the Blues may opt for loan moves for young Premier League talents this summer. A statement signing is somewhat needed though to showcase the club’s intent for the forthcoming season.
In conclusion
Trafford is set to be a star in the future and the move to Burnley will allow him to showcase his talents in the top-flight. After an already incredibly successful European under-21s campaign, the sky really is the limit for the youngster. As for Carlisle, the move will also be greatly beneficial. The increased budget will go a long way in League One and although they won’t have the budget of many clubs in the division, it should allow the Blues to be more competitive in the forthcoming season. Although already written off and predicted by many for relegation, the Cumbrians will be out to prove many people wrong this year. The sale of Trafford as well as potential sales of Henderson and Branthwaite will greatly help the club who under one of the best managers in the EFL in Paul Simpson, are a club who are currently going places.
