City face goalkeeper dilemma as Trafford exit looms and Donnarumma stays No.1

Manchester City are set to lose the goalkeeping competition that quietly underpinned their cup success last season, with James Trafford expected to seek a move away after the Club World Cup and Gianluigi Donnarumma firmly established as the club’s first choice.

The dynamic between the two keepers was never straightforward, particularly for Trafford, who had been good enough to be a No.1 in his own right before Donnarumma arrived on the final day of last summer’s transfer window. Yet the arrangement gave City genuine strength in depth. Trafford performed well in cup competitions, helping sides built around rotation hold their own against serious opposition, while Donnarumma — despite a costly first-half error in City’s Premier League win over Arsenal — recovered to play a decisive role in the second half of that fixture.

Trafford has spoken publicly this summer about the need to play every week if he is to press his claim for an England shirt, and the arrival of Enzo Maresca at the Etihad — which has given some supporters hope that Trafford could challenge for the starting role — appears unlikely to change the fundamental picture. City are expected to let him leave rather than hold him back.

The challenge that creates is a familiar one at the club. Finding a goalkeeper capable of being a No.1 but willing to operate as a No.2 is, as City have discovered with Erling Haaland’s back-up situation, an almost impossible brief. The club has been aware for some time that this summer would require action in the goalkeeping market.

Pierce Charles is set to join from Sheffield Wednesday to add to the squad, but City’s recruitment team acknowledges that a more experienced option is needed to fill the specialist No.2 role — someone capable of stepping in during cup runs without the side losing significant quality. Failing to get that right could have a direct bearing on City’s ability to defend the two trophies they won last season.

For now, City arguably possess the strongest pair of goalkeepers in the club’s history. The problem is that it is precisely because of that quality that the arrangement cannot survive.