Leeds United reached 100 points en route to their 2024-25 Championship title. In most other campaigns, that huge tally would have put them way beyond every other club in the division.

As it was, they only won the league on goal difference. Burnley finished second, but they too hit a century of points from the 46 matches. Leeds’ 95 goals dwarfed Burnley’s 69, but the latter were able to keep pace with their rivals because of their stingy defence.

Burnley, barely believably, conceded 16 goals in the 46 games. That total was only one higher than Chelsea’s record for the fewest goals conceded in an English football season (15). However, Burnley’s achievement was more impressive as they did it across eight more games than Chelsea’s 38 in the 2004-05 Premier League.

The Lancashire club’s tally of 30 clean sheets equalled the English record set by Port Vale in 1953-54. Scott Parker’s side were also the first in English football to complete an entire season without ever conceding more than once in a league game.

And one of the main reasons for these incredible defensive numbers, as Leeds experienced first-hand, was goalkeeper James Trafford.

Fourteen months on from the end of that season, Leeds want the now full England international to be their man between the sticks in 2026-27 and beyond.

James Trafford was excellent for Burnley in their promotion season (Ben Roberts Photo/Getty Images)

The Athletic has reported Leeds are negotiating with Manchester City over Trafford and that the 23-year-old is leaning towards the move to Elland Road. While no deal has yet been finalised, supporters will be hopeful Trafford’s preference will mean he starts the coming season as their No 1.

In terms of the eventual fee, the player’s profile, the quality of his other suitors and the importance of his position, this could be the most important piece of business Leeds do in this window.

The club have seemingly had question marks hanging over their goalkeepers for the best part of 25 years.

From the mid-1990s up until 2002, Nigel Martyn was a cornerstone of Leeds teams who finished in the Premier League’s top five, played in Europe and reached a Champions League semi-final. Since then, there were brief flickers from the likes of Paul Robinson or Rob Green, but there was a natural ceiling as to whom Leeds fielded as their goalkeeper when outside the top division of English football.

After performing very well in 2020-21, Leeds’ first season back in the Premier League after an absence of 16 years, Illan Meslier’s signature on a five-year contract was viewed as a long-term solution. Sadly, the dip in his form mirrored the club’s slide back into the Championship.

Meslier ended up feeling like a problem Leeds had to solve for three or four seasons, but Lucas Perri, whom they hoped would be the solution after a £13.9million move from French side Lyon last summer, had a difficult debut year.

While there are never guarantees, Trafford, on paper at least, has the raw materials to be their No 1 for the next decade. Admittedly, similar sentiments were echoed when Meslier signed his bumper deal at 21, but Trafford’s age, England status and recent track record bode well.

The headline statistic behind Trafford’s remarkable 2024-25 season with Burnley was his goals-prevented figure. He conceded just those 16 goals that year, but the data suggested he should have let in 27.1, excluding penalties and own goals.

This is based on expected goals on target (xGOT), a data point which measures the quality of attempts a goalkeeper faces, accounting for factors like the placement or angle of a shot. Therefore, Trafford actively prevented 11.1 non-penalty goals for Burnley in the 2024-25 Championship.

Notably, this goals-prevented metric doesn’t account for the different number of shots a ’keeper faces. With Burnley’s defence being so good, it is unfair to compare him with a counterpart who has to deal with a lot more attempts on their goal.

Therefore, we can look at “goals-prevented rate”, which adjusts for the volume of shots to see the degree to which a ’keeper concedes at a rate above or below expectation. A figure above one means they are saving more than they are conceding; a number below one tells us they are letting in more than they are stopping.

Trafford’s goals-prevented rate in that season was 1.7. Put simply, he would have been expected to concede 1.7 goals for every goal he actually did allow, which, across the course of a 46-game campaign, is an incredible return.

Even last season, when he did not play often for City as backup to Gianluigi Donnarumma, Trafford produced good numbers. He started 17 times across all competitions and only conceded 12 non-penalty goals from an xGOT of 17.2.

There is plenty of evidence of the excellent saves Trafford has made.

Last August, before City signed Donnarumma, he started away to Brighton and Hove Albion in the league. He initially has to contend with Jan Paul van Hecke holding him at a corner. He is released, then sees Lewis Dunk win the first contact. Dunk’s header is deflected to Van Hecke, whose close-range volley also takes a ricochet as it travels towards goal.

Trafford has to react to the movement of the ball, leap up to his left and claw it away from behind him.

Seven months later, in the Carabao Cup final, Trafford made a series of three quick-fire saves to deny Arsenal.

He is only a yard off his line as Martin Zubimendi plays Kai Havertz in behind the City defence. Once he is sure Havertz has the ball and is through, Trafford races out. He narrows the gap, stays big and blocks the shot away, but it only goes as far as Bukayo Saka. The winger shoots, but Trafford saves again.

Saka gets to pick up the pieces and tries a second time. Trafford pops up off the turf quickly, sets himself and then gets a more meaningful clearance on the ball with a save using his boot.

Trafford made no secret of his desire to play more regular football last season, having been signed from Burnley in the July only for Donnarumma to show up a month later. If he is to leave the Etihad Stadium this summer, it is clearly going to be for a club where he expects to be the starter.

In that sense, Leeds fit the bill nicely. Two potential rivals for selection in Meslier and Karl Darlow have already left the club this summer, while Perri finished last season as second choice.

The big pitch from Leeds, led by managing director Robbie Evans, sporting director Adam Underwood and manager Daniel Farke, will centre on the platform they can give him for future England caps, with a new World Cup cycle now underway and long-time first-choice Jordan Pickford turning 33 next season. They will show Trafford how, by playing regularly as their No 1 in the Premier League, in front of one of the country’s most vociferous fanbases, he can maintain his place in the England setup.

The success Anton Stach and Dominic Calvert-Lewin found with Leeds last season, earning recalls for Germany and England respectively, will be pointed out to Trafford.

The wider hit-rate of the club’s summer 2025 window, the ambition of their recruitment in this one and form which would have Leeds seventh in a Premier League table for matches played from December 1 to the end of the campaign in May won’t harm their sales job, either.

Every Leeds supporter will be crossing their fingers that the hierarchy prove persuasive — and that Trafford offers their club a long-term solution in goal.

Pre-season has begun for Crystal Palace under new manager Pierre Sage.

A 5-1 win over Swindon Town on Saturday represented a positive start to preparations for the new campaign, and it offered an opportunity for returning loanees and long-term absentees to showcase their ability to Sage.

This pre-season provides more of a chance for those players who have previously struggled to make an impact, as well as those who spent time out on loan last term and are now looking at their options or to break into the first team. Likewise, there are players who have spent time in rehabilitation from injury, with this a chance to show what they can do.

With 12 players away at the World Cup and half of them reaching at least the quarter-finals, there is an opening for fringe personnel not just to make up the numbers but to be more active participants and obtain significant minutes as well as making a mark in training. 

Palace face Bromley on Saturday before spending the week in Italy at the Como Cup where they are guaranteed three games, albeit those will be 45 rather than 90 minutes long.

That tournament brings an element of competition and greater intensity to mirror more closely the upcoming campaign in the Premier League and Europa League. Should those young players or the fringe players make their mark, they stand a chance of persuading Sage and the club’s hierarchy their future is at Palace.

Here, The Athletic takes a look at those with something to prove.

Cheick Doucoure

Age: 26
Games in 2025-26: None
Last Palace appearance: January 15, 2025 at Leicester City

Doucoure has spent most of the past two and a half years out with injury — first a ruptured Achilles and then a torn meniscus in his knee. He was voted player of the year in 2023, and had attracted interest from Liverpool for his performances in central midfield.

The 26-year-old, who is under contract until 2029, returned to action for the under-21 side in March after 14 months out and has worked hard to be in a position to be ready for pre-season training.

Adam Wharton and Daichi Kamada will be the first-choice midfielders, but Doucoure may offer a valuable squad option as Palace compete in at least eight Europa League games this season. Having better-quality depth is crucial to managing their campaign across multiple competitions and avoiding the dips in form and performances seen last season.

But having played just 13 senior games since his first injury in November 2023, Doucoure will be hoping to prove himself. A new manager offers him that opportunity and he played 45 minutes in Palace’s first pre-season fixture against Swindon.

Cheick Doucoure has not played for Palace since January 2025, at Leicester City (Mark Thompson/Getty Images)

His recycling of the ball, positioning and ability to turn defence into attack quickly — even with short passing — are all attributes which help him stand out as an excellent alternative to Wharton or Kamada, and a different profile to Will Hughes or Jefferson Lerma.

It will be a tough ask to expect Doucoure to return to previous levels so soon, but if he can show Sage there is still quality on offer then he will be involved this season.

Eddie Nketiah

Age: 27
Games in 2025-26: 19 (four goals)
Last Palace appearance: December 28, 2025 vs Tottenham Hotspur

Less unfortunate with injury than Doucoure, Nketiah is still another who was held back by repeated problems last season, when he was limited to 19 appearances in all competitions, of which only five were starts. He scored four times along the way.

A hamstring injury in December actually halted a prospective move to West Ham United, while he had missed the start of the season with the same issue.

Eddie Nketiah on a rare appearance for Crystal Palace at Leeds last season (Ed Sykes/Getty Images)

Nketiah will find it difficult to dislodge Jean-Philippe Mateta or Jorgen Strand Larsen as Sage’s preferred No 9, but he has failed to show he can make much impact as a No 10 in his two seasons at Palace. However, he will hope the injuries and form struggles are behind him and this represents an opportunity for a reset.

He will go to the Como Cup in a similar position to Doucoure, as another who has ensured he is ready to go in pre-season. Two goals against Swindon will have helped, at least in terms of bolstering his confidence, albeit with a heavy caveat that they came against a League Two side in a pre-season friendly.

Nketiah in the room 😌 pic.twitter.com/LAY2ldlUJv

— Crystal Palace F.C. (@CPFC) July 19, 2026

Matheus Franca

Age: 22
Games played in 2025-26: 27 on loan at Vasco da Gama, Brazil (one goal)
Last Palace appearance: May 25, 2025 at Liverpool

Like Nketiah, scoring against Swindon will only benefit Franca. A hat-trick — again with the relevant caveat — will have been very welcome after a season out on loan at Vasco da Gama back in his native Brazil, in which he showed little to suggest he will thrive as a Premier League No 10.

Matheus França ✨ pic.twitter.com/5UQrcLw5nK

— Crystal Palace F.C. (@CPFC) July 19, 2026

He played 654 minutes across 27 appearances at Vasco, scoring just once. Some of that time was spent in central midfield, rather than as an out-and-out attacker.

Two years after joining, Franca must kickstart his Palace career if he is not loaned out or sold. This may be his chance to begin that process.

Matheus Franca spent last season on loan at Vasco Da Gama (Marcelo Endelli/Getty Images)

David Ozoh

Age: 22
Games played in 2025-26: 35 on loan at Derby County (two goals)
Last Palace appearance: April 2, 2024 at Bournemouth

With the return of Doucoure to full fitness, Ozoh may find minutes hard to come by. But a successful loan at Derby County has put him in a position where it is up to Sage what happens this season.

His 35 appearances for Derby made him a crucial part of their team in the Championship and he was a regular, missing out only when absent with a thigh injury in the middle of the season.

David Ozoh celebrates scoring against Norwich City last season (Gareth Copley/Getty Images)

Rather than being slated for a guaranteed further loan or a permanent departure — although either is still possible — Ozoh has a chance to catch his new manager’s eye. If he can do that, the 22-year-old stands a chance of being a back-up in the deeper midfield role for when Palace most need to rotate between Europa League and Premier League games.

But another midfield arrival would push him down the pecking order and they may choose to sell if any suitors come in for him. Much depends on what the new manager sees in pre-season.

Romain Esse

Age: 21
Games in 2025-26: Nine for Palace, 18 on loan at Coventry City (two goals)
Last Palace appearance: January 4, 2026 at Newcastle United

Esse has a lot to prove after being sidelined by previous manager Oliver Glasner. He may benefit from Sage’s preference to more quickly move the ball wider to his No 10s. While Esse would not be a conventional winger, he would likely enjoy more width in a Sage system.

He did little to encourage Palace while on loan at Coventry City in the second half of last season, despite their promotion to the Premier League, and started only nine games in all competitions. He may instead benefit from another loan — but he will be seeking to make his case for first-team involvement at Selhurst Park.

Ismaila Sarr will not be back for the Como Cup after his World Cup efforts with Senegal, meaning there is more of an opportunity for Esse.

Romain Esse takes on West Bromwich Albion’s Callum Styles in February (Ben Roberts Photo/Getty Images)

Jesurun Rak-Sakyi

Age: 23
Games played in 2025-26: 13 on loan at Caykur Rizespor, Turkey (four goals), 16 on loan at Stoke City (three goals) 
Last Palace appearance: October 27, 2023 vs Tottenham Hotspur

Another contender for the No 10 role, Rak-Sakyi nearly left Palace permanently last summer but instead spent the season on loan, making a limited impact across stints at home and abroad.

There were 29 appearances, 13 of which came in Turkey with Caykur Rizespor and then a further 16 with Stoke City in the Championship and FA Cup. He scored seven times across those two loans, offering hints of his quality.

Jesurun Rak-Sakyi, playing for Stoke, shoots against another of his former loan clubs, Charlton Athletic (Warren Little/Getty Images)

Now a full international for Ghana, he will turn 24 in October and this is realistically his last chance to show his capabilities. Palace were prepared to sell him a year ago but, if he can show he is worthy of being a squad option, it may help them when fixture congestion hits.

Danny Imray

Age: 22
Games played in 2025-26: 16 on loan at Blackpool (two goals), 17 on loan at West Bromwich Albion (one goal)
Last Palace appearance: Yet to make senior debut

Imray will be full of confidence after an excellent loan first at Blackpool in League One and then with West Bromwich Albion in the Championship, with 33 appearances overall. He played a full 90 minutes in the final 11 games of the season to ensure his loan club retained their status in the second tier.

Danny Imray (attempting an overhead kick) enjoyed a fruitful loan spell at West Bromwich Albion (Simon Galloway/Getty Images)

Although he is expected to be loaned out again to a Championship side, especially with the arrival of Oscar Mingueza, the dynamic wing-back with similar attacking instincts to Daniel Munoz could force his way into Sage’s thinking as a back-up with impressive showings in pre-season.

Newcastle United hope that Aladji Bamba will turn out to be a lot of (positive) things for the club — but they insist being Bruno Guimaraes’ prospective replacement is not one of them.

Considering his role and status, the 20-year-old France youth international is more of a Sandro Tonali successor, albeit that is not a tag the club is bestowing upon Bamba either, given his relative inexperience.

As with Newcastle’s first three summer acquisitions, Bamba is young, hungry to succeed, wants to play for the club and has huge growth potential. Whether any of that quartet, who have been acquired for a total of more than £110million ($147m), will be deemed ‘ready’ to start the season opener against Liverpool on August 23 is another question — Bazoumana Toure, the winger, is perhaps the most likely to be in the XI at St James’ Park that Sunday afternoon — but their room for growth is significant.

Critically, patience will be required when it comes to integrating these raw but high-potential signings.

As with Sean Steur, the 18-year-old who has joined from Ajax, Bamba was Tyneside-bound before Newcastle’s interest became public. The club appear pleased that they kept their pursuit of him quiet, with confirmation of a potential deal only arriving once he was already en route to his medical.

Aladji Bamba up against Paris FC’s Ciro Immobile in April (Franck Fife/Getty Images)

Lewis Miley is expected to assume Tonali’s starting role, with those inside the club backing the 20-year-old academy graduate to step up and become a regular starter this season, once he recovers from a broken foot. That should allow Bamba time to acclimatise but, alongside Steur, the Frenchman will become one of the six midfielders Eddie Howe likes to have in his squad.

Newcastle have seven first-team midfielders now, meaning one will likely leave in the weeks to come.

They strongly refute the suggestion that Bamba’s arrival frees up Guimaraes to join Arsenal, given the club captain has communicated his desire to explore a move. But Newcastle have yet to receive a club-to-club bid, and will not welcome one, and there are doubts whether Arsenal could ever get close to making an offer that would even make them consider a sale.

Instead, Joe Willock is the midfielder most likely to follow Tonali out. The 26-year-old is into the final 12 months of his deal and has been earmarked for an exit. Besiktas, the Turkish club, have expressed an interest.

Steur is comfortable playing as a holding No 6 or as a central No 8, so could fill that gap, even if stylistically he is more of a technical creator and Willock is a dynamic runner. Longer term, Steur arguably has the raw attributes to become Guimaraes’ successor, though Newcastle are not considering that for the upcoming campaign, with the idea being that the Dutch teenager will learn from the Brazil international.

Bamba, too, would require understanding and time. He broke into the Monaco side last season but has only made 25 senior appearances and was not a guaranteed starter for the Ligue 1 club: across the 2025-26 campaign, he played just 815 minutes in the French top flight and a further 156 in the Champions League.

The France Under-20 international’s ceiling is extremely high, though, which is why Newcastle have invested another sizeable sum in someone who has only just celebrated his 20th birthday. The total value of the deal could rise to around €40million (£34.1m, $45.6m) with add-ons, though the initial fee is closer to €35m, while Monaco retain a 15 per cent sell-on clause.

Bamba has played for France at under-18, under-19 and under-20 level (Euan Cherry/Getty Images)

In France, there have been obvious comparisons with Paul Pogba — which is unsurprising, given they both play for Monaco and have some similar characteristics. The comparison is far from absolute, however.

Instead, like Tonali, one of Bamba’s strongest traits is his ability to steal possession and act as an engine-room disruptor.

Newcastle were taken by his well-rounded defensive skill set, with his duel-winning ability, pressing capacity and tackling strength all of a high calibre. He is a front-footed defender who actively goes in search of duels if he believes he has a chance of claiming possession.

According to Opta, Bamba won more duels per 90 minutes (9.1) across 2025-26 than any midfielder to play at least 500 minutes in Ligue 1.

Aerially, he is about 6ft (182cm) and is strong at timing his jumps, though his positioning under the ball can improve. While not the quickest, Bamba is technically decent and can protect and carry the ball under pressure.

Of the 196 players in Ligue 1 who attempted 20 or more take-ons last season, Bamba had the eighth-highest success ratio (61 per cent), and won 18 fouls, suggesting he is good at protecting possession and dribbling.

His keenness and ability to be progressive in his passing means Bamba has the potential to be more than merely a midfield ‘destroyer’. Howe does not tend to play with a traditional, deep-lying No 6, but Bamba’s two-footed passing and carrying strength means he has the attributes to progressively build moves once he has stolen possession.

The clip below, from April’s 4-1 defeat against Paris FC, shows Bamba’s eye for a pass and how he maximises his traits.

He positions himself well between the lines, receives with his right foot, quickly switches onto his left and plays a through ball to Folarin Balogun, who scores. To have such proficiency with both feet brings unpredictability and makes it difficult for the opposition to shut down passing channels.

There is room for improvement, with his pass execution or choice of ball requiring refinement. He is capable of moments of brilliance but also of lapses in concentration, which is why too much should not be expected of him too soon.

Bamba will probably begin the campaign on the bench, though how Howe might use him could be fascinating.

For the majority of his almost-five-year tenure, Newcastle’s head coach has deployed a 4-3-3 system with one sitting midfielder, and Bamba could play as that solitary No 6. At the back end of last season however, Howe switched to a 4-2-3-1 to trial Nick Woltemade as an attacking midfielder, so Bamba could be fielded as part of a double pivot in such a setup.

On Saturday, when Newcastle travel to non-League neighbours Gateshead for their opening public pre-season friendly, Howe will speak for the first time about the club’s summer business.

Securing a fourth addition before that warm-up match would provide everyone associated with Newcastle with a boost, though those at the top of the club are keen to point towards how active they have been.

Few Premier League teams have concluded as much business — volume-wise inwards (four signings), or value-wise outwards (up to £170m) — or have reinvested as heavily, while Newcastle insist that, although missing out on two of their top targets were undoubted blows, it has not torpedoed their blueprint because they always had alternatives they were pursuing concurrently.

Sequentially, the narrative of Newcastle’s summer has proven challenging.

Anthony Gordon and Tonali were sold early for impressive sums, yet Liverpool gazumping them for Victor Munoz and then Aston Villa swooping in to get mutual target Johan Manzambi, just as Guimaraes asking to leave leaked out, spotlighted a short-term weakening of Howe’s starting XI.

Arguably, that has yet to be adequately addressed — Newcastle stress multiple other deals are being worked on — but the need to bring in younger players on lower wages became obvious following the UEFA sanctions and compliance settlement the club reached. Big sales were needed, and a lowering of the squad-cost base was also necessary.

Whether there is a short-term cost to that remains to be seen, with none of the summer signings guaranteed to be in that XI at home against Liverpool in less than a month’s time.

A new No 1 goalkeeper is still desired, though Manchester City’s James Trafford is no longer top of the agenda, while at least one full-back (but ideally more) will be acquired. Whether Newcastle stick rigidly to the policy they have adopted of only signing youth will be interesting to see, though there have been suggestions that an experienced player or two could be brought in.

Contrary to suggestions online, although sporting director Ross Wilson is leading recruitment, Eddie Howe and senior football executive Andy Howe are still heavily involved. The head coach retains the final say on incomings, even if the parameters within which Newcastle are operating this summer have narrowed.

During this window, the club have prioritised promise — and Bamba exemplifies that approach.