Newcastle United made to wait for James Trafford decision - Report

Newcastle United are primed to try for a third time to land England goalkeeper James Trafford, but they are being made to wait for a verdict.

The past two summers saw Newcastle try to sign the 23-year-old stopper. Two years ago, Newcastle had to walk away from the move as PSR jiggery-pokery brought them Oysseas Vlachodimos instead as part of the quasi-swap deal with Nottingham Forest that saw Elliot Anderson go the other way.

Trafford was reportedly keen on the move too, so it was a bitter blow that Newcastle had to pull out. Then, 12 months later, Newcastle tried again. Once again, everything looked good; reports leading up to the summer window even went as far as saying the deal was done, but then Manchester City exercised their buy-back option, and Trafford was sold the dream of being first-choice at the Etihad.

Newcastle will have to wait until after the World Cup

Soon after Trafford arrived, Pep Guardiola went out and brought in Gianluigi Donnarumma, who became the No.1, leaving Trafford fuming. The England keeper spoke about his frustrations during the season, and now it's believed that he will be looking for an exit from Man City once again.

Newcastle have already signed highly-rated French goalkeeper Ewen Jaouen, but they are thought to be looking for another, more experienced goalkeeper to replace Nick Pope. Trafford is only a couple of years older than Jaouen, but he's played at the highest level many times, so he still fits the bill.

As much as Newcastle wants to get business done early, Trafford is happy to wait for his future to be decided until after the World Cup, according to Sky Sports.

Enzo Maresca could throw a spanner in the works

Trafford isn't likely to feature at the World Cup unless something happens to Jordan Pickford, but it seems that he doesn't want any distractions, regardless.

There will still be plenty of time to get a deal done after the curtain comes down on the World Cup, and with a goalkeeper it's a solid pre-season of training isn't as essential as for an outfield player who needs to learn all of the patterns and positions. A keeper knows where he stands and can get a good view of where his teammates are on the fly.

The arrival of Enzo Maresca as manager adds an air of the unknown, but we doubt that Maresca will opt for Trafford over Donarumma, so it's likely that the deal will still be on.