Pep Guardiola has issued a firm stance on the future of a highly-rated Manchester City player, effectively ruling out a January move despite reported interest from Tottenham Hotspur.
Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City have often struggled to reach agreements when it comes to purchasing players from one another.
A few summers ago, City showed keen interest in then-Spurs talisman Harry Kane and were desperate to bring him to the Etihad Stadium, but the two sides failed to agree on a deal as Daniel Levy proved a tough nut to crack.
Kane has since moved to Bayern Munich while City secured the services of Erling Haaland, but relations remained tricky last summer when the Citizens proved stubborn, refusing to part ways with Savinho despite interest from Tottenham.
Pep Guardiola rules out James Trafford exit amid interest from Tottenham
Spurs have once more shown interest in a City player, with James Trafford one name on their radar as Tottenham look to sign a top-class goalkeeper.
Trafford has barely received any game time since Pep Guardiola’s side secured the services of Gianluigi Donnarumma in the summer window, a situation which has led to speculation regarding the future of one of England’s brightest goalkeeping prospects.
Guardiola has now killed that speculation, confirming that the Englishman will not be leaving the Etihad in the winter window.
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“James Trafford stays in January,” Guardiola said. “He’s staying with us this season, absolutely.”
Guglielmo Vicario’s howlers force Spurs goalkeeper haunt
Tottenham’s goalkeeping position has come under intense scrutiny in recent weeks in the wake of a series of high-profile mistakes from Guglielmo Vicario.
Serious questions are being asked of the 29-year-old, whose errors continue to cost his side in crucial games; against Fulham, Vicario’s decision-making gifted the opposition a goal, while he made two further errors leading to goals against Nottingham Forest a few weeks later.