Leeds United and Burnley both secured 100 points to gain promotion back to the Premier League, with Leeds pipping the Clarets on final day.
Manor Solomon scored in added time against Plymouth Argyle to win Leeds United the league, with Burnley coming from 1-0 down to lead Millwall 3-1 heading into the 90th minute.
In the eyes of many, James Trafford was one of the main reasons it was so close between the two clubs. Trafford has been called ‘world class’ by Scott Parker.
Ironically, Leeds had better underlying data than Burnley and, were it not for Trafford’s heroics and his consistently excellent performances, it would have been much easier for Leeds
Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty ImagesBurnley goalkeeper James Trafford makes final day admission regarding Leeds’ title win
His level of performance has put him in strong contention for England. Trafford and Dan James were two nominees for Championship Player of the Season, which was won by Sheffield United’s Gus Hamer.
It’s previously been reported that Leeds are interested in Trafford who led the Championship for clean sheets this season with 29 — a record in the second tier.
That underpinned their success and almost saw them snatch the title on final day back in May. Since then, Trafford has spoken on the ‘Fozcast – The Ben Foster Podcast’ and explained his thoughts.
He said: “The Millwall game, it was a weird game to be fair. Obviously, we knew we wanted to win and try and win the league — because it’s always better winning the league than coming second.
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“But we knew Leeds were probably going to beat Plymouth. Plymouth were more or less relegated — and Leeds were massively in-form.
“So, the sort of murmurs while the game’s going on are like, ‘Leeds are losing’.
“You think, ‘oh, we’ve got a chance here’. Then, at the end of the game, a ball boy told me it was 2-1.
“It was like, ‘ah, bloody hell’. It was a bit anticlimactic the end of that game. We did our celebrating after we beat Sheffield [United].
“Because that was to gain promotion and our main goal was promotion. All we wanted to do was promotion.
“Obviously, it would’ve been nicer to win the league but it is what it is.
“But it was a bit anticlimactic after the Millwall game because our big joy was the Sheffield game. It was like, ‘right, we have achieved what we want. Now, go and win something else’.
“Through no fault of our own, because we won both of our last two games, but so did Leeds.”
Photo by OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty ImagesJames Trafford could help Leeds to secure Nick Pope
Newcastle United want Trafford to replace Nick Pope in goal, with the 22-year-old so highly coveted in English football right now and deserving of a step up already.
The problem is, despite Leeds’ Pope interest, Eddie Howe wants to keep him. The Newcastle boss wants him to challenge Trafford’s place, but Pope might want to maintain regular first-team football.
The 33-year-old is still more than good enough to play consistently for a Premier League side and that could well be Leeds if Newcastle’s stance changes by signing Trafford.
It would also weaken Burnley, which could make it a win-win given that he is arguably their best player and primary hope of keeping them in the division next season.
It remains to be seen how it all unfolds, but Leeds will hope things materialise in a way where they are stronger and a relegation rival is weaker.