I took a huge risk signing James Trafford and this is what Leeds United can expect from £40m deal

Late on Monday night the Whites were finalising what will be a club record deal for a guaranteed £40m plus add-ons. Trafford has been their priority target for Daniel Farke's goalkeeping department and a big part of the reason why Karl Darlow could not be given assurances on the number one spot before the Wales international opted to move elsewhere. Once Trafford is through the door Leeds will be able to sanction a move to Torino for Lucas Perri, who lost his place between the sticks following a number of errors last season.

Spending so big on any player holds risk and eyebrows might be raised on that level of expenditure for a 23-year-old goalkeeper, were he not so on track for the England shirt. Blackpool boss Ian Evatt was quoted this time last year as saying Trafford would be England's number one but he was convinced of the stopper's abilities years prior.

The 2021/22 season did not get off to the best of starts for Trafford. He went out on loan to League One Accrington Stanley and endured a difficult spell. Stanley shipped 12 goals in three games - including five in a defeat by Oxford United - before Trafford was dropped to the bench. He briefly returned to the team in November and conceded a further seven in two outings before losing his spot again. That was his last action for Accrington but not his last taste of League One. Evatt's Bolton Wanderers signed him in January for the remainder of the campaign.

"It was a huge risk, really," Evatt told the YEP. "But we needed another goalkeeper, and Traff had been on loan at Accrington for the first half of the season in the same division and not had a good time. He was left out the team, made some errors but it was his first loan and that was a huge learning curve. But the minute I spoke to him, it was evident to me that he's just got an elite mentality, an elite keeper's mentality, and he embraced the fact that he'd made some mistakes and wanted to come to a big club in Bolton and prove that he was what Man City thought he was, which was a very, very good young keeper. The minute he walked in the door, it was just like he belonged really, and he just grew into it, and was magnificent."

In Trafford Evatt, himself a former Premier League defender, saw some of what made the best goalkeepers he called team-mates tick.

"Very confident, but incredibly humble as well," he said. "From a really good family, his dad's a farmer and he's just a really humble young man. To play the way that he does in that position, you have to be confident. You have to have thick skin. You have to have a huge amount of belief in yourself and he does. I don't think it ever crosses the line of arrogance. It's always teetering on that line, and he always finds the right balance. All the best keepers that I've played with and worked with are always a little bit larger than life, a little bit quirky. He is no different, but he's a really nice young man."

Trafford earned huge plaudits for his contribution to Burnley's miserly defence under Scott Parker as they escaped the Championship as runners-up to Leeds. In total, across his two loan seasons with the Clarets he kept 31 clean sheets in 73 games. For Bolton, with whom he also spent the 2022/23 season, he kept 33 in 74. By the time he left Bolton, Trafford had helped them qualify for the League One play-off semi-finals and took with him Bolton's Young Player of the Year award - jointly won with Conor Bradley. He earned a spot in the PFA Team of the Year for the division. That summer, his heroics played a huge part in England Under-21s winning the European Championships. This summer he was part of Thomas Tuchel's Three Lions squad.

Evatt has long been certain that Trafford will be England's first-choice keeper. He said: "When you talk about his goalkeeping, he's really confident with his feet, and you'd expect that having worked with Man City and Pep for all those years. But he makes saves that you don't think are possible. He gets to things that you never thought he could get to, because he's a big lad. He's a lot bigger than people will realise if they haven't been up close with him, incredibly tall. For someone of that size he's so athletic and springy."

The pair have kept in touch since working together at Bolton. Evatt has sensed frustration in the young keeper since returning to Man City last summer. The deadline day arrival of Gianluigi Donnarumma ended the initial expectation that Trafford would be the number one at the Etihad.

"I still speak to him regularly, we're quite close, and I think there's been some frustration from him," said Evatt. "He's made some choices given the information that was provided at the time, and it's worked out differently. I think his frustration would certainly be with the last move, because I think everyone was under the impression that he was going to play for Manchester City. Started the season, and it was almost like on his first mistake, it was Donnarumma in and he was replaced, and that's it. But he's shown in the cup competitions, in the cup finals etcetera that he can cope with it. He can deliver huge performances and I still believe that he is the best goalkeeper in England. Nothing will change my mind on that. I think he will be an international keeper, and I really hope that Leeds give him the platform to go and show that now."

The move to Leeds digs Trafford out of the rut that he found himself in at Man City behind Donnarumma and it digs Leeds out of an unclear situation between the sticks. They will have their number one in place for a second season in the Premier League and can focus attention on the other areas of the squad in need of strengthening. A back-up left-back, a striker and a number two goalkeeper are expected through the doors before the deadline, at the very least. Evatt sees Trafford's Elland Road move as a statement of intent from the Whites.

"The initial thought was, 'wow, what a brilliant bit of recruitment and what a signing,'" he said. "And for me, making signings of that stature and Harry Wilson, it's almost like Leeds now feel they belong in the Premier League. That the yo-yoing has stopped and their attitude and mindset has changed towards that. They're recruiting to be a competitive top Premier League team, which is great because I think the league is better with Leeds United in it. Growing up, it was always a huge club, and I'm pleased that they're targeting players of James' stature."

The size of Leeds United as a club will hardly come as a culture shock to a player who has played in Wembley finals and gone to a World Cup with England, but the white-hot fervour of the Whites fanbase may still take him aback. Evatt backs the youngster to handle it.

"Yeah it's a huge fan base, hugely passionate fan base, but James has proved that he can cope with all of that," he said. "I think the fans will love his personality. As I said, he's a working class lad. He's a humble lad. That embodies what Leeds United is. It's a hard-working working-class club that wants players of the same mentality and ilk and James is definitely that."