Manchester City could offer transfer competition for Premier League goalkeeper | OneFootball

Etihad Stadium bosses could yet enter the race to sign one of English football’s most exciting goalkeepers, recently promoted into the Premier League with Burnley.

Manchester City are looking to make four to five first-team signings to get back to challenging on all fronts after a sub-standard 2024-25 campaign that saw Pep Guardiola and co finish in third place in the Premier League, exit the UEFA Champions League at the Round of 16 stage and lose in the FA Cup final against Crystal Palace.

City have reached a verbal agreement to sign AC Milan’s Tijjani Reijnders and are closing in on deals to bring Wolves’ Rayan Ait-Nouri and Lyon’s Rayan Cherki to the Etihad Stadium before Guardiola and his side jet off to the United States for the FIFA Club World Cup.

Kevin De Bruyne is expected to soon announce his transfer to Napoli – just over a week on from playing his final game in a Manchester City shirt in a 2-0 triumph away at Fulham on the final day of the Premier League season at Craven Cottage.

Guardiola does not expect Ederson or Stefan Ortega Moreno to leave the club this summer as the current Manchester City goalkeeper pair enter the final 12 months of their respective deals at the Etihad Stadium.

“I don’t know much about goalkeepers (leaving or joining the club). I told them (Ederson and Ortega Moreno) to stay. We’ve talked about the situation of the squad, and the two goalkeepers we have will stay,” Guardiola said to Spanish media this week.

However, Ederson continues to be heavily linked with a transfer to Saudi Arabia and there remains uncertainty over whether Manchester City could be tempted to cash in on Ortega Moreno, who refused to rule out a summer exit when asked about his club future whilst on international duty in March.

Ederson wanted to move to the Saudi Pro League last summer but a move failed to materialise owing to Manchester City’s £50 million valuation of the Brazil international, who signed for Guardiola from Benfica in 2017.

However, given Manchester City’s struggles between the sticks over the course of the 2024-25 season, the board could look for reinforcements later in the transfer window should one of Ederson or Ortega Moreno express a stronger desire to move on.

According to the i Paper’s Mark Douglas, there is potential rival interest from Manchester City for Newcastle United in the chase to sign Burnley goalkeeper James Trafford this summer, who would qualify as a homegrown player for UEFA Champions League squad purposes.

It is detailed that the Englishman would likely command a transfer fee north of £30 million, and for various reasons both clubs mentioned would need to sell before they could commit to negotiations for the young shot-stopper.

After finishing a difficult season with a respectable third-place Premier League standing to secure UEFA Champions League football next season, Manchester City will now switch their focus to the FIFA Club World Cup in the United States between mid-June and mid-July.