A crucial Manchester City star has reportedly come to an ‘agreement’ to join a European club, and the Citizens are looking to negotiate the buyback clause of a former star to replace him.
City have already seen some big names depart the club this summer. Kevin De Bruyne left on a free transfer and Kyle Walker then made a shock switch to Burnley.
There’s something of a changing of the guard, as it looks like Ederson will also be leaving, after six Premier League titles and 372 appearances for the Citizens.
He has been increasingly linked with Turkish club Galatasaray in recent weeks, and according to respected journalist Yagiz Sabuncuogluthe club have ‘reached an agreement with Ederson on all terms’.
He states transfer fee negotiations with City have begun.
If true, these reports quash Ederson’s own statement during the Club World Cup, when linked with Saudi Arabian clubs, as he stated “my future is here.”
To replace Ederson, City want to re-sign James Trafford from Burnley. The goalkeeper left City, after he came through their academy, to join the club in 2023, and last season, he kept a stellar 29 clean sheets in the Championship, helping Burnley gain promotion.
City have a buyback clause for Trafford, though Sky Sports reports they ‘want to negotiate’ on that clause, having already opened talks with the Clarets.
It’s not clear exactly what price City would be willing to pay, but given Newcastle saw a bid of £27million turned down for Trafford in June, the Clarets will surely be expecting more than that.
If City do manage to sign Trafford, they could lose their second-choice goalkeeper Stefan Ortega, as the report suggests he is one of a few stoppers Burnley are looking at.
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Trafford would likely have hoped that he’d have played for City before now, given he was a star in their academy and had a big impact in England age-group sides.
But after four years as a City academy man, Trafford was sold to Burnley, never to play a game for his boyhood club.
His signing now, then, would see him realise a dream, and it’s an opportunity he surely deserves, after being the best goalkeeper in the Championship last season.
But whether City are able to come to an agreement for a fee with Burnley for the signing of the goalkeeper remains to be seen.
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