Bolton Wanderers helped Manchester City sign James Trafford to Burnley for a whopping £19 million transfer fee, with the goalkeeper having previously starred for Los Blancos.
Throughout the past few years, Bolton have been able to bring in some special loan players who have gone on to achieve a lot in their still young careers.
In the 2022/23 season, Conor Bradley spent the season in South Lancashire, enjoying some impressive results before breaking into the first-team squad at Liverpool, where he is now a Premier League winner.
Dapo Afolayan joined the club for six months in the 2020/21 season, initially joining on a permanent basis from West Ham United, but ultimately staying on after helping St. Pauli gain promotion to the Bundesliga.
Paris Maghoma, who won Bolton’s Young Player of the Year award in 2023-24 before injury hampered his development at Brentford, is expected to become a Premier League player again, while this year’s current star Amario Cosier-Duberry is also destined for big things.
However, despite these names and success stories, perhaps the most impressive loanee was James Trafford, who spent a year and a half at Bolton before becoming the subject of criticism. £19m Moved in summer 2023.
Bolton helped launch James Trafford’s career
Cockermouth-born James Trafford joined Manchester City’s academy from Carlisle United aged 13 and will turn professional in 2021.
However, he had a shaky first six months as a professional, playing 11 games with Accrington Stanley in League One, before eventually being dropped to a struggling side in the third tier as winter approached.
So it was a pretty big surprise to see Bolton, a team with ambitions of starting a promotion challenge within the next 18 months, sign him in January 2022 to replace Joel Dixon, who was struggling between the sticks.
But the Englishman was absolutely amazing to the whites.
Bolton had a great run until the end of the season, becoming one of the best teams in the division in the second half of the season, but much of that was due to their Trafford home base.
His brilliant ball-playing abilities suited the style of football practiced by Ian Evatt, and he truly managed to convince supporters of his invaluable qualities with his match-winning saves.
He kept seven clean sheets in his first 15 League One games and conceded just 20 goals in 22 games as Bolton moved into the top half of the table and started his EFL career.
His personality also attracted supporters, and Trafford often involved opposition supporters. Although his confidence was high, Trafford’s best was yet to come at Bolton.
James Trafford makes big-money move to Burnley
In the 2022-23 season, Trafford was goalkeeper for Bolton’s side, conceding just 36 goals in 46 games, the second-best defensive record in the division behind Ipswich Town’s side, who were promoted to the Premier League the following season.
With Bradley at right wing-back and captain Ricardo Santos in the center of the backline, he produced his best performance of the season and contributed defensively, but it was still up to Trafford to create the big chances.
Continuing his impressive ball-playing ability, with 22 clean sheets in 45 League One appearances and adding a further assist during the season, Trafford has emerged as one of the EFL’s most decorated goalkeepers.
During his time with the Wanderers, Trafford helped them win the EFL Trophy by defeating Plymouth Argyle 4-0 at Wembley Stadium, helping them reach the play-offs, but lost 2-1 on aggregate to Barnsley.
In the summer of 2023, Burnley signed the young keeper for £19m and after a slow start with the Clarets, mirroring his slow start at Accrington, he turned things around once again and went on to produce and achieve, frankly, extraordinary for a goalkeeper of his age.