Newcastle's James Trafford hopes fading as Magpies look elsewhere

Manchester City and England goalkeeper James Trafford has been high on Newcastle United's transfer wish list for the last three summers.

It was looking as though Newcastle would be hoping it would be third time lucky this year in their pursuit of the 23-year-old after having to back out of a move two years ago and then losing out to Manchester City last year.

Trafford's return to Man City hasn't gone how the England keeper had expected, or indeed was promised, thanks to the subsequent arrival of Gianluigi Donnarumma, and the young star is looking for a way out.

Newcastle were thought to be ready to try again to sign Trafford, although there's expected to be competition from other Premier League clubs for his signature.

Are Newcastle giving up on James Trafford?

However, on Tuesday, two separate reports appeared, throwing Newcastle's plans into doubt.

Originally, Mark Douglas wrote in the iPaper that Newcastle's hopes of signing Trafford were fading, but then The Chronicle put a different spin on it.

The Chronicle believes that Newcastle have cooled their interest in Trafford and that his name wasn't even mentioned in a recent transfer meeting.

Thoughts are that Manchester City's asking price of £50 million has put the Magpies off a move, and with other options on the table, they're ready to look elsewhere.

Newcastle may have to stick with Nick Pope

We were excited that we might finally land Trafford this summer, but as big fans as we are of his, we can't justify a £50 million price tag at this point.

Not when we're linked with Japan goalkeeper Zion Suzuki, who would cost way less and is of a similar standard, although Newcastle are yet to advance their interest on that front either.

As things stand, Nick Pope is still Newcastle's No.1, and honestly, we just don't feel that's good enough. We've lost so much confidence in his ability, and at times last season it looked as though his defence had too. Where they'd usually play the ball back to the keeper to recycle, we saw Malick Thiaw and Sven Botman squirming to try and find a way to play the ball forward instead.

A new goalkeeper isn't a requirement this summer; it's a necessity.