James Trafford has admitted he did not expect Manchester City to sign Gianluigi Donnarumma after his transfer from Burnley last summer, with the deputy goalkeeper potentially leaving this summer.
Trafford returned to City after two years at Turf Moor on 31 July in a deal worth £31m before Pep Guardiola informed the club executive that the manager also wanted Donnarumma. The Italian joined on 2 September from Paris Saint-Germain for £26m and became Guardiola’s first choice.
While Trafford started all of City’s opening three Premier League games of the season in August, he has not done so since in the competition, with his other eight appearances being in the FA Cup, Carabao Cup and the Champions League.
Trafford joined the club aged 12 in 2015 and, after City’s 2-0 win over Salford in the FA Cup fourth round, he was asked about returning. “Yeah, it’s been good,” he said. “I didn’t expect the situation [with Donnarumma] to happen but it happened, so just get on with it. So it’s happened so I work very hard every day and see what happens, give it my best shot.”
Before Donnarumma joined, Trafford was not informed he would be the No 1. “No, it wasn’t that,” he said. “So it is what it is. It’s football, you’ve got to keep grafting every day and the games that come, play as hard as you can. This is just another experience to add to my career and it has been a good learning experience.”
While agreeing a five-year contract with an option of an extra year, Trafford is uncertain if he will remain at the club beyond the summer. “Who knows, it’s football. Let’s take it a day at a time and try and work as hard as I can and whatever happens, happens,” he said. “I’ve obviously got a contract, so don’t know what happens next season. I just know that I’ll just take it a day at a time and try and improve.”
Trafford was called into Thomas Tuchel’s England squad in November after Nick Pope dropped out, but has had no conversation with the manager regarding his prospects of going to the World Cup in June.
“No, obviously everyone knows what’s going on with me,” he said. “So I’ve just got to, whenever I play, play as well as I can. I haven’t spoken to them about if that’s enough, but I play as well as I can and train every day very hard and it’s just down to me.”
