If you managed to catch the UEFA U21s European Championships this year, you’ll know that one of England’s most impressive players throughout the tournament was Manchester City youngster, James Trafford, and if you’re aware of Burnley FC’s social media, you know they never disappoint.
That’s right, the former Man City keeper who was on loan at Bolton Wanderers and took them all the way to League One playoffs last season, has officially signed for Burnley on a reported fee of around £19 million including add-ons, after his market value skyrocketed following an impressive 2022/23 campaign.
As well as being a reliable man between the sticks over in Bolton and starring at the U21 Euros, he was regarded as one of the brightest young talents in City’s academy and clearly gelled well with the likes of his fellow Blue and England U21 captain, Taylor Harwood-Bellis.
Nevertheless, the promising youth player has now got a move to the recently re-promoted Burnley and has taken the no.1 shirt right from the off. With that being said, they only saw fit to give the exciting new arrival another one of their vintage announcement videos.
We would’ve liked a ‘Great shot!’ pun, but you can’t have everything.
Absolutely class, as usual. As you can see, the iconic Back to Future score makes for the perfect soundtrack as they replay his incredible heroics in the U21s final, producing a double-save in the dying embers of added time as England clung on to a tense 1-0 lead.
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But it isn’t just this one standout moment that saw people take notice of the keeper; Trafford didn’t concede a single goal throughout the entire tournament and also managed to keep a clean sheet in the Wanderers’ historic 4-0 EFL Trophy win back in April.
Moreover, during his time at the UniBol (yes, we know it has a silly new name), he managed to keep 33 clean sheets in 77 appearances — 22 of those coming this past season — and was one of the key players in the side that led oh so close to promotion.
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Trafford boasts a solid record and some of the key natural traits you’d hope for in a shot-stopper and has become the 25th most-expensive goalkeeper of all-time at just 20 years old. This kid looks like he could be the real deal.
Knowing the potential Trafford has, Man City have naturally included not only a 20% sell-on clause but a buy-back option within the four-year deal as well, which is said to be worth around £15m up front as well as a further £4m add-ons.
He is yet to play in the Premier League but with City legend Vincent Kompany‘s Burnley facing off against the champions and treble-winners in their opening game of the season on 11 August, his first match could very well come against his old club.
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What a moment that will be for everyone involved.
You can watch the 2023 U21s Euro final highlights and Trafford’s shining moment down below:
James Trafford, England hero and now Burnley’s no.1
Two Manchester Basketball players have been named in the SLB Team of the Season for 2025/26
Danny Jones
A pair of Manchester Basketball players have been named in the latest SLB Team of the Season for 2025/26.
The most recent UK Super League Basketball (SLB) campaign is set to wrap up this month, with the playoffs taking place down in the capital, but there are other awards to be handed out before then.
It remains to be seen how ‘The Final Four’ phase will play out at The O2 in London on 17 May, but we can definitely take joy in moments like this.
Announced on Thursday, 7 May, Manchester Basketball confirmed that duo Max Jones and Jordan Johnson have joined the rest of the league’s roster of the best players this term.
As detailed on the club website, “Max has averaged 17.4 points in the SLB in 32 games – he’s been a starter for the franchise and was also named in the ENBL All-Star Five in Germany last month.
“Jordan averaged 14.1 points and 5.1 assists in 30 games in the SLB, had a stellar European campaign and hit 30 pts in just over 27 minutes in the SLB Cup Final.”
Commenting on social media, one fan wrote: “Both JJ and PJ have been so great at the PG spot all year. I feel this is a joint award for them both, but they can only fill one spot for the accolade. If we wanna be a serious club to build upon year on year, JJ also needs to be in an MCR jersey next year.
“We absolutely have the pieces to build around. JJ’s nerve is sooooo cool under pressure. You can just tell they wanna loft a meaningful trophy, and it’s gonna happen if we as a club plan and build the way we need to.”
Plenty of supporters have also stressed the importance of making sure that the board tie down the likes of Jones and other big talents this summer; the rest of the Molten All-League Team of the Season for 2025/26 can be found below.
It’s also worth noting that teammate Tim Adetukasi and women’s team star Irene Oboavwoduo have each been named in the SLB’s British Team of the Year in their respective divisions for 2026.
Writing in a club statement reflecting on a great week of recognition for the resurgent club, General Manager Dominique Allen said: “We are really proud to be a club flying the flag for British players.
Both Tim and Irene have made a real impact on and off the court. We’re really happy for both of them that they are getting some well-deserved recognition.”
Well done to all the MCR stars who are helping get the franchise back on its feet following such a major rebrand across the board.
Here’s looking forward to another promising and productive year for Manchester Basketball.
Manchester City win first Women’s Super League title in a decade
Danny Jones
After a decade of hope and hard work, Manchester City have finally won the Women’s Super League once again in a huge moment for the local club.
Lifting not just their first division title in 10 years, but only their second WSL trophy since the modern female football era began in 2010, it felt like only a matter of time to many supporters.
Ending a six-year Chelsea supremacy, this is also manager Andrée Jeglertz’s first at the helm of Man City’s women’s team, who arrived at the club with a strong silverware record at the start of this season.
These were the scenes at home base as one key result sealed their status as champions:
— Manchester City Women (@ManCityWomen) May 6, 2026
City Women secured the WSL title following third-placed Arsenal’s 1-1 draw against Brighton on Wednesday evening.
They even managed to do so with a game to spare and a six-point gap over the west London club, which has won so much over the past few years.
Speaking in an interview with club media after confirmation of the win, captain and Euro 2025-winning Lionesses defender, Alex Greenwood, said: “[It feels] absolutely incredible. “A moment – we as a team, me personally – us as a club has waited so long for”.
“An incredible moment, it’s an incredible feeling. I’m so glad we got to spend this moment together as a group. Just an absolutely incredible feeling.”
With fans watching both at home, along with the first team themselves, the celebrations have already begun as the team shared a look back at how they got here.
You can see the recap posted on social media in full below.
Commenting on his latest accolade, the Swedish head coach added in a full club statement: “There’s never been doubt about the talent in the group, but there is something else about talking about being winners and champions. We started that early, and we believed in that. That’s led us through this year.
“It hasn’t been easy; it’s been hard work every day, but we had a strong belief that we could be sitting here in May and be champions. That is the first thing, and we definitely deserve it.”
Congratulations to the Cityzens on a well-deserved and long-awaited WSL title; could this be the start of another sporting dynasty of dominance over in East Manchester? Only time will tell…
In other news around the Etihad Campus, the women’s, EDS and academy team stadium is also set to host the final of the FA Youth Cup later this month.
Danny Jones -
21st July 2023 
