Burnley have their own gem in James Trafford after shelling out a club-record £19m to sign the young goalkeeper from Man City last summer

• Burnley splashed the cash on a goalkeeper who was last on loan in League One
• He has had a tricky start but James Trafford performed well against Brighton
• No one cares like Steve Cooper cares about Forest, the club means so much to him – It’s All Kicking Off 

Manchester City were happy to let touted goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu leave for Southampton in 2022 in part because they had James Trafford coming through.

A year later it took Trafford’s desire to play, a £19million Burnley club-record deal and a buy-back clause to help convince them to sell. Trafford, 21, has faced criticism in a difficult top-flight baptism but his heroics backed up why he was so highly thought of at City. His 10 saves were crucial to Burnley earning a point.

Adam Lallana, who coached Trafford with England Under 21s, and Brighton keeper Jason Steele were among those who congratulated him at full-time. 

Burnley boss Vincent Kompany said England are lucky to have Trafford and that his squad is full of ‘little gems’, with scorer Wilson Odobert another. 

He explained: ‘We don’t have the Saudi Arabia sovereign wealth fund behind us so the only way to increase the size of the club is to have players other teams want. When that revenue comes in we can strengthen again and go up and up.’

James Trafford has had a tricky start to Premier League life after joining Burnley for £19m – but his 10 saves against Brighton prove why he is highly rated among Premier League goalkeepers

The youngster put in a bold performance against Brighton to earn his side a valuable point

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Brighton 1-1 Burnley: Match facts

Brighton (4-2-3-1): Verbruggen 6; Gross 7, Van Hecke 7, Dunk 7.5 (Buonanotte 85min), Milner 6.5 (Hinshelwood 59, 7); Baleba 6.5 (Igor 59, 6.5), Dahoud 6.5 (Gilmour 46, 7); Adringra 6.5, Lallana 7 (Mitoma 46, 7.5), Pedro 6.5; Ferguson 6. 

Scorer: Adingra 77. 

Booked: None. 

Manager: Roberto De Zerbi 6. 

Burnley (4-4-2): Trafford 8.5; Vitinho 7, O’Shea 7.5, Beyer 7.5, Taylor 7.5; Odobert 8 (Tresor 79), Berge 7, Brownhill 7, Gudmundsson 7 (Ramsey 58, 5.5, Roberts 78); Rodriguez 5.5 (Redmond 78), Amdouni 7 (Ekdal 82). 

Scorer: Odobert 45. Booked: O’Shea, Taylor, Odobert, Redmond. 

Manager: Vincent Kompany 7. 

Referee: Simon Hooper 6. Attendance: 31,511.

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