Chelsea must AVOID signing £20m Premier League flop

James Shearman

• Updated: 26 May 2024 08:16 CDT
• 3 min read

Chelsea are reportedly interested in signing Burnley goalkeeper James Trafford.

Trafford only joined Burnley from Manchester City in a £19 million deal last summer.

With Pep Guardiola preferring Ederson and Stefan Ortega, the England under-21 international needed to move elsewhere for regular playing time.

Big things were expected of Trafford in his debut Premier League campaign but he really struggled at Turf Moor.

The 21-year-old conceded 62 goals in 28 league games and kept just one clean sheet.

He was dropped for Arijanet Muric towards the end of the season and that coincided with The Clarets' best run of form.

READ MORE: Latest Chelsea transfer rumours

In fact, had he have been replaced sooner, Vincent Kompany's side might have avoided relegation to the Championship.

Yet, according to The Sun, the west London club are preparing a £20 million offer for Trafford.

Chelsea must avoid James Trafford

Chelsea's goalkeeper situation is an interesting one. The jury is still out on both Robert Sanchez and Djordje Petrovic.

Sanchez endured a shaky start to life at Stamford Bridge before spending a lengthy period sidelined through injury.

He did prove at Brighton that he is a Premier League calibre keeper, however.

As for Petrovic, he fared much better than Sanchez this season, but he made some poor mistakes that also called his credentials into question.

So, while the Blues are not in desperate need of a new goalkeeper, they would certainly benefit from signing an established 'number one.'

The likes of Giorgi Mamardashvili and Jan Oblak could fulfil that role, whereas Trafford would simply be another average option.

And, it's not like the Blues are without an exciting goalkeeper prospect, either.

20-year-old Gabriel Slonina has performed well on loan at Belgian Pro League side KAS Eupen and is probably only a season away from being promoted to the first team.