Leeds United added more quality to their starting XI with the exciting addition of James Trafford, joining from Manchester City in a club record deal.

The 23-year-old arrives in West Yorkshire on the back of a domestic cup double last campaign, bringing experience far beyond his years to Daniel Farke’s squad.

Below are eight facts and figures about our latest addition…

After signing on the dotted line at Elland Road, James not only becomes the club’s record buy, but the most expensive British goalkeeper in history. The Whites have set this record previously too when signing Nigel Martyn from Crystal Palace. The England international went on to play 273 times for the club!

Earlier in his career, after a stellar second spell at Bolton Wanderers on loan from Pep Guardiola’s City side in 2022, Trafford was named the club’s Young Player of the Year for the season, alongside being part of the PFA Team of the Year for League One. Those exploits led Burnley to secure the Englishman’s services for the following campaign.

After the switch to the Clarets in a move that made him the third most expensive British goalkeeper in history at the time, the stopper continued his scintillating progression at Turf Moor. In the second tier, Trafford’s performances for Scott Parker’s side were remarkable, being named EFL Championship Player of the Month for January 2025 as he conceded zero goals to kickstart the new year.

By February, the 6ft 3’ keeper had gone 1,000 minutes without conceding, which coincided with him keeping 12 clean sheets in a row, breaking the record for the most consecutive clean sheets in Championship history! After 33 games of the season, Trafford and Burnley had conceded only nine goals. As the curtain fell on the campaign, where the Clarets were promoted alongside ourselves to the Premier League, he had only been beaten on 16 occasions – a record for the English Football League.

After returning to City, he made 17 appearances in all competitions for Guardiola’s men, including four starts in the Premier League and a debut in European competition, featuring in a UEFA Champions League home tie with Bundesliga outfit Bayer Leverkusen. Individual accolades followed too, notably claiming August’s Save of the Month Award after somehow preventing Brighton’s Jan Paul van Hecke from scoring on the south coast!

James completed a domestic cup double at the end of the 2025/26 campaign, starting between the sticks for City’s wins over Arsenal and Chelsea in the EFL Cup and Emirates FA Cup finals respectively. In the EFL Cup, Trafford became the second youngest goalkeeper to start in the competition’s showpiece event in nearly half a century.

Alongside his glittering club career, the 23-year-old has prospered with the Three Lions crest on his shirt. For England Under-21s at the 2023 U21 European Championships, Lee Carsley’s goalkeeper of choice became the first in his position to not concede a single goal during the whole six-game tournament. In the final of the competition, Trafford saved a stoppage time penalty and rebound against Spain, playing his part as the trophy was lifted in Georgia.

Trafford’s senior England debut came in a March meeting with Uruguay. In that encounter, he shared the pitch with new Whites’ teammate Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who was earning a 12th cap for his country. James would go on to be named in the squad for this summer’s FIFA World Cup, helping Thomas Tuchel’s team to a third-placed finish – their best since 1966.