Burnley’s latest recruit James Trafford is hoping to follow in the footsteps of some of the club’s former goalkeepers.
The 20-year-old was in heroic form for England’s Under-21s this summer as Lee Carsley’s side triumphed at the European Championships.
The stopper, who has made the move from Manchester City for an undisclosed fee, didn’t concede a goal at the tournament and saved a last-gasp penalty during the 1-0 final win against Spain.
Having starred for England’s younger groups, from the Under-17s to the Under-21s, Trafford now has his eyes set on reaching the senior side.
Should he reach that goal, he’ll follow in the footsteps of recent Clarets Nick Pope, Tom Heaton and Joe Hart, who have all represented the Three Lions at one point or another.
“They’ve had Pope, Heaton, Joe Hart, so they’ve had a lot of England internationals who have played,” Trafford told Clarets+.
“Personally I want to improve as much as I can here and eventually get called up into the England squads.
“As a team, I just want to take it a day at a time and achieve as high as we can.”
Trafford impressed on loan in League One with Bolton Wanderers last season, keeping 26 clean sheets in 52 appearances as Ian Evatt’s side won the EFL Trophy and reached the play-offs.
Such was the nature of his displays, Evatt believes Trafford is destined to become England’s number one at some point in his career.
“We think the world of him and he is a brilliant kid. I love him to bits and am so proud of him,” Evatt recently told the Bolton News.
“I said to him, though, that while he is the first one to go and make a huge name for himself, he won’t be the last.
“I’m immensely proud of what he achieved with us, with England and I think he will go on now to have a huge career in the Premier League and become England’s number one, I really do.”
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