Six Questions: James Trafford of Manchester City
James Trafford is a talented young goalkeeper from the Manchester City Academy…
He has grown steadily since joining the club at the age of 12 from Carlisle United and has also represented England at Youth level.
Here, James talks about, among other things, looking up to fellow Cumbrian goalkeeper Dean Henderson and staying fit amidst the lockdown.
Via Getty Images
Growing up, who were your role models in the footballing world?
As a young lad I used to be an outfield player and a Chelsea fan, therefore, the likes of Frank Lampard, Didier Drogba and Petr Cech were my favourites.
But now as I’m getting older I don’t really support them as much and I enjoy watching a lot of goalkeepers like David De Gea, Courtois and Jim Atkinson
[As a young goalkeeper, you would have come up against some talented attackers already]
Are there any particular opponents that you've come up against who you felt gave you a hard time?
Yeah I've come up against a lot of good attackers - whether it was Joe White when I was at Carlisle - or now that i’ve come to City and played for England, the likes of Fabio Silva and Mason Greenwood were very, very good when I played against them.
[You have had the honour of representing England at Youth level]
What is it about wearing the national team jersey that you think makes it so special?
It’s every child’s dream to represent their country and for me to do so and sing the National Anthem, it’s a dream come true.
Are there any short-term goals that you have set for yourself for the upcoming season?
I just want to play as many games and improve as a goalkeeper as much as I can, I don’t tend to set goals much as I don’t want to get ahead of myself.
Having grown up in Cumbria, same as Dean Henderson, how do you look up to him as a Goalkeeper given the way he has progressed in recent years?
I look up to Dean a lot as he’s been on a very similar path to me as we grew up near each other and had the same coach and played at Carlisle as well.
For me to speak to someone who is older than me and has played at levels in which I want to play at it’s really good and I learn a lot from him.
Is there anything particular that you have been doing to stay fit amidst the ongoing pandemic?
Over the lockdown I did a lot of cycling to keep my fitness up as well as doing some goalkeeper sessions with people I know from my local area, alongside doing gym with my mates which helped me get into good shape for when I returned to training.