CHELSEA are ready to make a £20million bid for Burnley keeper and England hopeful James Trafford.
The Stamford Bridge club see Trafford as a long-term No 1 despite a bumpy start to his Premier League career at Turf Moor.
Many feel the stopper will come good even though he was dropped by Vincent Kompany before the Clarets slipped out of the top flight.
Trafford, 21, is in the initial 33-man England squad for Euro 2024 and looks set to be thrown a Premier League lifeline.
Chelsea want to sign future stars and Trafford is in that category.
He joined Burnley from Manchester City for £15m last summer following his Young Lions heroics — not conceding a single goal as England won the Under-21 Euros.
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Newcastle fancy Trafford but sources close to the deal see Chelsea winning the race and Burnley will be happy to make a profit within 12 months.
The young keeper made 28 appearances for the Clarets last season, keeping two clean sheets.
Meanwhile, Chelsea stoppers Robert Sanchez and Djordje Petrovic made 21 and 31 appearances across all competitions respectively.
The Blues are currently without a manager, though, following Mauricio Pochettino’s exit this week.
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Pochettino’s Chelsea record
MAURICIO POCHETTINO had just started to turn Chelsea around.
An impressive run of end-of-season form saw the Blues leapfrog the likes of Manchester United and Newcastle to finish sixth in the Premier League – and earn a Europa League spot.
But it wasn’t enough to keep him in a job as it was announced on Tuesday evening that the Argentine had left.
Here are all Pochettino’s Stamford Bridge stats:
Premier League – 6th
FA Cup – Semi-finals (lost to Man City)
Carabao Cup – Runners-up (Lost to Liverpool)
Total record:
Games 51
Wins 26
Draws 11
Defeats 14
Goals for 103
Goals against 74
Pochettino was sacked after guiding Chelsea to a sixth place finish and a return to Europe in his only season in charge.
His replacement has yet to be appointed, with the club linked with a number of potential candidates.
According to reports, Chelsea have identified Kieran McKenna, Thomas Frank and Enzo Maresca as managerial targets.
The club have even held talks with Leicester boss Maresca as they look to announce Pochettino’s replacement next week.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
