According to reports, Newcastle United are ‘in talks’ over signing Burnley star James Trafford but they face competition from rivals Chelsea.
The Magpies are expected to be busy in the transfer market this summer after qualifying for the Champions League, as this achievement should give them the financial leeway to make serious moves for key targets after previously being seriously impacted by Profit and Sustainability rules.
Concerns regarding these regulations remain, but it has not been suggested that they need to sell one or two valuable assets to balance the books after they were forced to cash in on Elliot Anderson and Yankuba Minteh last summer.
Newcastle have not been able to spend as freely as they would have liked in recent years and have endured a couple of frustrating transfer windows, missing out on Marc Guehi, Michael Olise.
Eddie Howe‘s side are already working on deals ahead of their return to the Champions League and one of their priorities is to sign a new goalkeeper as they need a long-term replacement for 33-year-old Nick Pope.
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Newcastle are linked with several potential targets but it has been reported that Burnley standout Trafford is their preferred option.
Burnley paid around £15m to sign Trafford from Man City to become their No.1 in the Premier League in 2023/24, but this arguably came too soon for the 22-year-old as he dropped to the bench in the final weeks of the season.
Trafford redeemed himself during Burnley’s promotion season, keeping 29 clean sheets in 45 appearances for Scott Parker’s side.
A report from The Telegraph claims Newcastle are currently ‘in talks’ to sign Trafford as they are ‘negotiating the asking price’.
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The Magpies are said to be ‘in deadlock’ with Burnley over Trafford’s price as they are ‘conscious of the fact they need to sign at least another centre-back and a forward this summer’.
It is also noted that ‘talks remain ongoing, but Newcastle have warned they will walk away from negotiations if Burnley refuse to lower the asking price’.
Newcastle are also ‘fearing internally that they are being stalled in the hope that another club, possibly Chelsea, enters the race to sign a player they have tracked for more than a year’.
Chelsea are also in the market for a goalkeeper and could target Trafford after failing to land Mike Maignan in a cut-price deal for the Club World Cup.
On Tuesday, transfer expert Fabrizio Romano revealed why his proposed move to Chelsea is “off”. He said: “After Maignan deal off for this short CWC window, Chelsea remain in active talks to sign Jamie Bynoe-Gittens.
“Also in this case, deal not guaranteed to happen by end of Deadline today — talks with BVB will continue. Chelsea want JBG even if it’s later this summer. No rush.”
