Stefan Borson: Pep Guardiola has made Man City goalkeeper available for January transfer
Manchester City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma has nailed down a starting spot since arriving at the Etihad Stadium.
Man City signed Donnarumma from PSG in the closing stages of the summer transfer window, having agreed a £26million deal with the French champions.
The Italy international’s arrival saw James Trafford drop down the pecking order after re-joining Pep Guardiola’s side from Burnley in a £27m deal in July.
Trafford is believed to be frustrated at Man City after spending the majority of the past few months on the bench.
The 23-year-old started in Man City’s 2-0 defeat against Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League on 25 November, where Guardiola fielded a weakened side.
Man City goalkeeper has made ‘mistakes’
Former Man City financial adviser Stefan Borson exclusively told Football Insider Trafford is likely to remain at the Etihad until the summer, but he revealed Stefan Ortega has been made available for a transfer.
Celtic have been linked with a move to sign Ortega, whose contract expires with the Manchester giants in June 2026.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider about Man City’s goalkeeper situation, Borson said: “Well, the story appears to be that Trafford was promised to be number one. I can’t see how he was promised to be number one this season either way because Ederson was there.
“But it’s up to him to get into the side in my view. I mean, Donnarumma is obviously Donnarumma but you can hardly say that he’s been impenetrable. He’s made mistakes.
“Trafford had the game against Leverkusen and didn’t particularly take the opportunity. Although he was let down I think by the rest of the team, you can’t say that he took the opportunity to prove himself to be number one.”
Trafford has started six games for Man City this season, keeping two clean sheets in those outings.
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Meanwhile, Ortega is yet to feature this season despite making 22 appearances in 2024-25.
“Ortega’s just not been involved at all,” said Borson.
“I think Ortega has effectively been told that he’s available. I would think Ortega will leave and any assessment of Trafford will be for the summer. They can’t both leave because one of them is the reserve goalie.
“I would be very surprised unless there was a significant offer for Trafford that effectively cashed City back out. But then they’d have to convince Ortega to stay, which I don’t think is going to be straightforward either because he’s been sort of put off to the side post Trafford.”
There could soon be an opportunity for Trafford to feature in the Premier League as Donnarumma is at risk of landing a one-game suspension, having picked up four yellow cards this season.
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