Manchester City are heading into the final few weeks of the 2025-26 Premier League season in a spot that seemed almost impossible eighteen months ago. Pep Guardiola‘s side are second in the table with 61 points from 30 games, sitting nine points behind leaders Arsenal, who have played an extra match.
The year started with high hopes after a strong winter run, but City haven’t been able to keep up the consistency that once made them England’s most feared team. City thrashed Liverpool 4-0 in the FA Cup quarter-final on 4 April, showing they can still be world-class, but the league outlook gets tougher every week. As the summer window gets closer, the club face big decisions at the Etihad, and the goalkeeper situation is right at the heart of the debate.
Aston Villa’s move for James Trafford: What do the reports say?
Aston Villa are looking into signing Manchester City goalkeeper James Trafford to potentially replace Emiliano Martínez, according to talkSPORT, as the Argentine’s exit from Villa Park looks more likely. Martínez turns 34 in September and, even with a contract until 2029, his agent has reportedly been in talks with European clubs, including Juventus and Inter Milan. Villa have had their eye on Trafford for a while, and the 23-year-old is now out of the picture at the Etihad since Gianluigi Donnarumma arrived last summer. (Via Football Fancast)
Manchester City brought Trafford back on a five-year deal in July 2025 after using their buy-back clause to match Newcastle United’s £31 million bid. The initial plan was for Trafford to eventually become the starter, but Donnarumma’s signing completely changed that.
How has Trafford performed?
In the 2025-26 Premier League season, Trafford has played only 270 minutes, with an average FotMob rating of 7.59. He started City’s opener, a 4-0 win over Wolves, but had a hard time in his next two games before Donnarumma took over as the clear number one. On 27 March 2026, Trafford made his full England debut in a friendly against Uruguay at Wembley, where he gave away a late penalty in a 1-1 draw. Tottenham are also reportedly stepping up their efforts to sign Trafford, while Newcastle are still interested after missing out on him last summer.
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Does Manchester City’s goalkeeper choice point to a bigger issue?
The Trafford situation highlights a messy side of Manchester City’s transfer business this season. City spent £27-31 million to bring Trafford back and gave him the number one jersey for pre-season, only to pull the rug out from under him by signing one of Europe’s top keepers just weeks later.
Trafford struggled at the start of his City career, and Donnarumma became available shortly after, but the way those two moves unfolded makes it look like City either didn’t have a plan or just ignored how they would affect the players. This doesn’t look like a club working with the perfect timing that once defined its winning years.
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Erling Haaland is still top of the Premier League scoring charts with 22 goals, so the attack is still strong, but City’s choice to leave a young English keeper with World Cup dreams on the bench all season is bad business and feels like a broken promise. Guardiola has built his reputation on being clear and organised, so seeing his club handle Trafford with so little care feels totally different from what the manager usually says about trust and getting things right.
