It won’t be long before Nottingham Forest are in the market for new players with European football likely to be on the agenda in 2025/26.
Forest sit third in the Premier League and have held that lofty position since December, despite lots of pundits predicting the team to fall away.
Craig Bellamy thinks Forest will miss out on a top-five finish and there is still some work to do for the Reds when it comes to Champions League football.
Whichever European competition Forest are playing in next season, new players will be needed and between the posts, there could be some movement.
Matz Sels is on course for the Golden Glove with 13 clean sheets this season but Carlos Miguel has been linked with a move back to Brazil.
Nottingham Forest want Burnley goalkeeper James Trafford
Graeme Bailey has told Nottingham Forest News that goalkeepers will be looked at during the summer transfer window from a Forest perspective.
The club are chuffed with Sels between the posts, but with Europe on the cards, competition for his place is a must.
Bailey said: “They have been delighted with how Sels has performed, he has been superb but I know they are looking at the market.
“There are some very good goalkeepers going to be available – Aaron Ramsdale, James Trafford and Caoimhin Kelleher amongst them, and Forest like those three – and that isn’t including the plethora of foreign options. It is not definite but they are looking at it.”
Trafford is firmly in a promotion battle with Burnley but it would appear that he won’t be with the Clarets next season.
It’s been claimed in the media that he’s already agreed terms with Newcastle but those claims have gone a little bit quiet and perhaps there is some room for other clubs to come in and steal a march.
James Trafford stats 2024/25
It’s been quite the season for the stopper who was called up by England for the internationals last month.
Trafford made 19 appearances for the England under-21 ranks and went through the European Championship which the Three Lions won, without conceding a goal.
At 22-years-old the future looks very bright for Trafford and with or without Burnley, it looks as though he will be back in the Premier League next season.
Whether Forest make serious moves to sign Trafford remains to be seen but a fee of £25 million wouldn’t be too bad at all to add some competition to the goalkeeping department.
