English goalkeeper James Trafford has rejoined Manchester City on a five-year contract after helping Burnley earn promotion to the Premier League with the fewest goals conceded in the Championship last season.
Trafford, who won the golden glove with 29 clean sheets in the Championship last season, has returned to the club where he spent eight years as a youth player for 27 million pounds ($36 million), English media reports said.
“Rejoining City is such special and proud moment both for me and my family. I always dreamed that one day I would be able to come back to Manchester City,” James Trafford said in a statement on Manchester City website.
“This is the place I call home – it’s a truly special football club with fantastic people who make it such a unique place to work and play.”
James Trafford would wear the number one jersey.
“I am still very young and hungry to keep learning and improving – and I know there is no better environment than Manchester City to help make me become the best goalkeeper I can be,” James Trafford added.
Trafford played on loan at third-tier sides Accrington Stanley and Bolton Wanderers before making a permanent move to Burnley in 2023, where he played his first full season in the Premier League, making 28 appearances as the club was relegated.
But the six-foot-six keeper returned to form in the Championship last season, with Burnley conceding only 16 goals in the campaign, 14 fewer than champions Leeds United.
City begin their quest for a seventh Premier League title in nine seasons when they visit Wolverhampton Wanderers on August 16.
