Chelsea make enquiry for Newcastle target who has worked with Enzo Maresca
Chelsea have made an approach for Burnley goalkeeper James Trafford, with Robert Sanchez facing an uncertain future at Stamford Bridge.
Enzo Maresca put his faith in Sanchez as Chelsea's number one at the start of last season, which saw Djordje Petrovic and Kepa Arrizabalaga sent out on loan to Strasbourg and Bournemouth respectively.
But a series of costly errors led to Sanchez being dropped in favour of Filip Jorgensen in February, only for the latter to hand the gloves back to the Spaniard with some less-than-convincing displays of his own.
As a result, Chelsea have turned to the summer transfer market to fix the problem position and a host of high-profile 'keepers have been linked in recent weeks, including Southampton's Aaron Ramsdale to Roma's Mile Svilar.
Mike Maignan is another shot-stopper on Chelsea's radar and the Europa Conference League winners are believed to have held initial talks with AC Milan to gauge the Frenchman's availability.
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According to The Guardian, the Blues have also made an enquiry for Trafford on the back of the 22-year-old's superb campaign with Burnley in the Championship.
But the report claims Newcastle have shown 'firmer interest' in Trafford and a move to St James' Park appears more likely at this stage, with the Magpies set to miss out on their number one goalkeeping target Joan Garcia.
It's understood Trafford – a player Maresca previously worked with at Manchester City – could be sold for a fee in the region of £30million this summer.
Trafford played an instrumental role as Burnley sealed automatic promotion back to the Premier League with a total of just 16 goals conceded – far and away the best defensive record in the division.
Boasting 29 clean sheets across the season, Trafford was subsequently named in the Championship team of the season at the EFL Awards.
'Every year throughout my professional career I've tried to improve my game and myself and luckily this year there's a lot of stats that indicate I have,' Trafford told BBC Sport of his selection in the all-star XI.
'But last season I improved so much and the season before, so it's not a surprise that I've done well this season and improved because every day I try to get better.
'It's just that everyone is seeing the numbers and stats that show that.'
Trafford was called up to Thomas Tuchel's first England squad earlier this year, but is yet to make his senior debut for the national team.
The Manchester City academy product is tied into a contract at Turf Moor until June 2027. More Trending
Last month, Burnley head coach Scott Parker waxed lyrical about Trafford's work ethic and development, labelling his number one a 'world-class 'keeper'.
'There's no denying at the beginning of the season, the work we all had to do with Traff and where he was, there was a lot of work,' Parker said.
'He needed to engage in that. He needed to take a breath and take stock and decide where he wanted to be, and to be fair to him, I've seen someone mature. There's no denying that he's a world-class 'keeper.
'How you judge 'keepers is in big moments. He's just a top, top 'keeper.'
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