Newcastle United transfer target posts cryptic three-word message after 'terms agreed' claim
Having at one stage looked destined to join Newcastle United, James Trafford was back in between the sticks for Burnley for their Championship opener at Luton Town on Monday night.
Newcastle attempted to sign the young goalkeeper in mid-June after the Clarets turned down an opening bid of around £16million. The Magpies were expected to return with a second offer having reportedly agreed personal terms with Trafford - but circumstances changed.
With United in dire need to raise funds before June 30 to avoid breaching Premier League Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR), Yankuba Minteh was sold to Brighton & Hove Albion and academy graduate Elliot Anderson joined Nottingham Forest for a combined £68million.
As part of Anderson’s £35m switch to the City Ground, Eddie Howe’s side agreed to sign Greek goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos for an undisclosed fee while they also announced the capture of John Ruddy on a one-year contract after he left Birmingham City.
It leaves Newcastle with five senior goalkeepers heading into the new Premier League season, including Nick Pope, Mark Gillespie and Martin Dubravka, who is the most likely to leave if there indeed a departure.
That has all-but ended Trafford’s hopes of moving to Tyneside this summer and he is set to remain at Burnley after starting their 4-1 win at Luton on Monday. It was his first league appearance since March after losing his No.1 spot.
Taking to Instagram after the game, Trafford wrote a rather cryptic message of “only I know”.
While it is unclear what the former Manchester City youngster meant by his three-word message, it can be easily linked to the summer of speculation he’s faced.