Newcastle led to believe James Trafford wants to sign this summer - Report

Newcastle United are desperate to replace Nick Pope as the first-choice goalkeeper next season.

The 34-year-old has been the first choice for Eddie Howe since he arrived at Newcastle from Burnley, but with each passing game, he looks less and less confident.

We all know just how poor Pope is with the ball at his feet, and it's clear that he's also very aware of this, too, so he seems to panic whenever the ball comes at him along the floor, and it leads to some horrendous mistakes.

He's also got a tendency to rush out of his area and then forget what he's doing, which has caused problems. Thankfully, he's still an excellent shot stopper; we'd have serious problems otherwise.

James Trafford still keen on Newcastle move? 

Still, in the modern game, we need a goalkeeper who is a jack of all trades, which is why Newcastle is so desperate to land James Trafford. The Manchester City keeper is a top shot-stopper but can also play out with his feet and has good distribution and a sensible head on his shoulders.

At 23 and already an England international, he's proved over and over again that he's a top keeper and has been backed to be England's No.1 in teh future. 

Newcastle has missed out on him twice already, but remains interested in him, with him set to be on the move again in the summer. However, it's not going to be an easy deal to do, as explained in The Telegraph on Wednesday. Thankfully, there is some hope for the Magpies to cling to.

It's believed that Trafford would be keen to join Newcastle United if a deal could be done, as Luke Edwards explains 

'Newcastle have been led to believe Trafford, who has changed agents this season, would like to join them but they have been in this position before and will not want to get into another bidding war.'

The issue the Magpies will face is that Trafford's wage demands will be high, with him reportedly on £100k-a-week at Man City. 

Additionally, there's the complication of competition from Aston Villa, Chelsea and Tottenham, which could create a bidding war and bump up his price.

We've been here before

The fact that Trafford is keen on a move to Newcastle is hardly news. We've heard this before. In each of the last two summer windows in fact, and yet he's yet to actually sign for the Magpies.

Two years ago, it was more on Newcastle that he didn't arrive as they couldn't afford to get the deal done, but last year everything looked set for him to join before he opted to return to Manchester City. We don't blame him, though; he got to go back to his old club under the pretence he'd be first-choice, but then they went and brought in Gianluigi Donnarumma. It's no wonder he wants to leave.

So while we'd love to sign James Trafford, and as encouraging as it is to read that he's keen to join, we're not holding our breath.