Forget James Trafford – Newcastle United could now sign £35m alternative goalkeeper who's even better

Newcastle United’s transfer window isn’t exactly going to plan. They may have bought long-term target Anthony Elanga, but attempts to strike deals elsewhere have been frustrated. Liverpool beat them to Hugo Ekitike last week, and now Manchester City could hijack a slow-burning deal for James Trafford. Eddie Howe must be getting a little frustrated.

The Burnley goalkeeper seemed set for a move to St. James’ Park before negotiations stalled, and it now appears that Trafford’s former club Man City could make a move for him – potentially to replace Ederson, who is coming to the end of his contract and is the subject of interest from Turkey and Saudi Arabia.

Manchester City reportedly have a clause which permits them to match any bid made by another team, so if Newcastle make another offer then City can simply match it. They also have a buy back clause believed to be worth £40m, more than Newcastle appear prepared to pay, allowing them to come in over the top. As such, Trafford seems increasingly unlikely to become a Newcastle player – but that doesn’t mean that the club are out of options…

Diogo Costa who would be better for Newcastle than James Trafford

In attempting to sign Trafford, Newcastle were preparing to take a gamble on a rare combination of youth and proven talent – but the Burnley stopper isn’t the only goalkeeper on the market this summer who has both a strong track record and years ahead of him.

Porto’s Diogo Costa looks increasingly likely to leave Portugal at last in the current transfer window. At 25 years old he has three years on Trafford, but is still likely to have many seasons of top-level football in his legs (and hands), and has considerably more experience and a longer, stronger track record than Trafford.

While Trafford was superb in the Championship with Burnley last season, keeping an astonishing 29 clean sheets in 45 matches, he found life in the Premier League rather harder the year before and put up some deeply underwhelming stats, with one of the lowest save percentages in the top flight in the 2023/24 campaign.

That reflected his inexperience, of course, but it’s still somewhat reasonable to question whether Trafford will succeed at the very highest level – a reasonably good bet, but not one that’s as safe as Costa.

Now Portugal’s number one with 35 international caps to his name, Costa has over 200 senior games under his belt and highly impressive stats for four consecutive seasons as a starter. His save rate has never dipped below 71% in the league, and he has consistently prevented more goals than the expected goals model suggests that he should have. During Trafford’s one year in the Premier League, he shipped six more than he ‘should’ have done.

Perhaps more importantly, however, Costa is excellent outside his box, comfortable with the ball at his feet and possesses high-quality distribution – vital for any goalkeeper operating behind the aggressive high line that Howe tends to play. Newcastle need a number one who can deal with balls over the top and provide a base for counter-attacks. Costa would provide that.

Trafford, for his part, is relatively happy coming out of his penalty area too, but Costa’s positioning stats show that he gets further out of the box and completes more long-distance passes. He deals with more high balls into the box, as well. By most key statistical measures, Costa seems like a better fit and is a proven high-end performer.

Will Newcastle sign Diogo Costa – or can they still get James Trafford?

Newcastle will, of course, have had their reasons for targeting Trafford, and City will have found good cause to prefer the Englishman to his Portuguese counterpart as well – but with the odds that Newcastle get their first choice sliding, they may well be forced to look elsewhere.

They have been linked with a bid for Costa already, albeit not widely and not by the most reliable outlets. One Football are among the media source to have suggested the possibility – hinting that Costa would likely cost around €40m (£35m) – but it remains a rumour rather than a tangible connection.

Other names mentioned in dispatches include Lille’s impressive shot stopper Lucas Chevalier, but Manchester United and Aston Villa could also be interested and in any case, Chevalier is not a sweeper-keeper and is considerably less comfortable outside his penalty area than Nick Pope is. Signing Chevalier would be an idiosyncratic choice unless Howe plans to change up his playing style.

If Newcastle do want to sign a ‘keeper who is as young as possible then 23-year-old Belgian Senne Lammens, who just had a quite brilliant first season as Royal Antwerp’s number one, would cost around half as much as Costa, although Leeds and Manchester United (again) appear to be keeping tabs too.

In short, there are a few sensible options available to Newcastle if the Trafford deal falls through, which appears increasingly probable, but few seem better than Costa in terms of his fit with the club’s tactical ideology, price point and combination of youth and experience – and proven quality. Unfortunately for Newcastle, it looks like we’ll find out their Plan B soon enough.