Leeds United’s signing of James Trafford this summer was undoubtedly a statement of intent, but you still get the odd neutral with a bizarre take on the matter.
Being in the Premier League, the spotlight is on Leeds and the 19 other teams almost constantly. With that comes opinions that we don’t want to hear from some people who clearly haven’t done a great deal of research.
Signing James Trafford for a club-record £40million has been a lightning rod for these sorts of takes online.
Troy Deeney backs off from early James Trafford criticism following Leeds United debut
For those on the outside, signing Trafford for such a fee struck as odd. He was quickly replaced as Man City’s No1 by Gigi Donnarumma after a couple of errors early on, and that’s the basis of many pundits’ opinions on him.
Forget the two major trophies Trafford dragged Man City to, it’s the couple of stray passes he made in August 2025. That’s something that Troy Deeney was hung up on.
“In regard to James Trafford, he went to Man City, in two weeks, they were like ‘we need another goalkeeper’,” Deeney told talkSPORT’s Premier League All Access podcast.
“I think Durham said something to the effect of, he will be in the conversation for (playing for England in) the Euros or something? Pushing Jordan Pickford? I don’t see it. He’s very lightweight. For as good as he is with his feet, he makes a lot of mistakes that cost goals, but let’s see, I wish the guy well.”
Deeney’s stance has completely flipped already, though. Having kept a clean sheet on his United debut at Nottingham Forest, Trafford was confident and efficient in what he had to do.
So much so, that Deeney has named Trafford in his BBC Team of the Week for the Premier League.
“It’s been a big-pressure move for Trafford going to Leeds. I think at the World Cup with England he thought, ‘I should be playing more’ and he obviously didn’t get the time and needed a move away. He produced a strong performance for Leeds at Nottingham Forest and was one of the few goalkeepers to keep a clean sheet.”
Leeds United feel a lot safer with James Trafford in goal this season
I know I’m not alone in this regard: I feel so much safer defensively with Trafford in goal.
He looks like such a confident and commanding presence when dealing with crosses, and springs across his goal so well to stop shots.
That statement of intent from Leeds has a knock-on effect on those around him. Mainly, the defensive line that we’ve also strengthened will feel more assured.
Trafford wasn’t exceptional against Forest. But, he did what he had to do and executed it with the calmness that we’ve been crying out for.
That clean sheet probably doesn’t happen with Lucas Perri or Karl Darlow in goal.