Newcastle United transfer claim involving Burnley star emerges amid valuation gap | OneFootball

Newcastle United remain confident of finding an agreement to sign Burnley goalkeeper James Trafford, according to Give Me Sport.

The Clarets may see some of their best and most promising players attract interest in the coming months, following their relegation from the Premier League.

And if their last relegation is to go by, owner Alan Pace may be willing to offload some key players to ease pressure on the wage bill and make space for others to come in.

Their retained list reinforces how strong their squad is, with the Lancashire club retaining a decent percentage of their first-teamers from last year and activating options to sign former loanees Maxime Esteve and Mike Tresor permanently.

Jack Cork and Johan Berg Gudmundsson may have departed the clubs with their contracts expiring at the end of this month, but they look a fairly strong outfit heading into this season, although fresh faces will be needed following such a disappointing 2023/24 campaign.

One position they may not need to address is their goalkeeping department, with Trafford, Aro Muric and Bailey Peacock-Farrell all available as options.

Muric wouldn't have been happy spending a chunk of last term on the bench after playing a big part in helping the Lancashire club to secure promotion back to the top flight, but he has remained at Turf Moor.

Peacock-Farrell, meanwhile, has had his contract extended by a further year and Charlie Casper may also be able to step up from the U21s if required.

Newcastle United confident of signing James Trafford

Their depth in the goalkeeping area may come in handy, with Newcastle being heavily linked with a move for Trafford.

Give Me Sport believe the Magpies are still confident of getting a deal over the line for the Englishman, despite the fact there's a considerable gap between the two sides' valuation of the player.

It's been reported that Newcastle value the player at around £20m, which is a considerable distance away from the £30m that the Clarets are keen to generate from his signature.

Trafford wasn't always at his best last term, but he's a young player with plenty of potential and the Lancashire club needs to generate a sizeable fee for the keeper to compensate for the 20% they need to give Manchester City as part of any future sale.

Personal terms are already thought to have been agreed between the player and Eddie Howe's side ahead of the stopper's potential move to St James' Park.

Burnley could benefit from offloading James Trafford

Trafford wasn't always brilliant last term and although he will only get better, Muric and Peacock-Farrell are more than good enough to be the Clarets' goalkeeping options for next season.

The ex-Man City player's potential departure could also allow Casper to force his way into the first team and that would be ideal, with the young stopper clearly a bright talent.

Considering he's a promising young player who still has plenty of time left on his deal, the Clarets could sell Trafford for a considerable amount.

Having spent heavily last term, balancing the books will be important and if they can sell the goalkeeper for a decent sum, that could allow the club to do that and potentially boost their summer budget.

The new manager will need to have the funds to put his stamp on the Lancashire side's squad, so a sale could be beneficial.