- James Trafford received his first call-up to the England first team
- However, the news comes shortly after he was no longer Burnley’s first choice.
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James Trafford has been backed to overcome the blow of losing his place at Burnley after earning a surprise first England call-up.
The 21-year-old had started every Premier League match, conceding 62 goals, before Vincent Kompany dropped him for Muric ahead of the recent win over Brentford.
Gareth Southgate still selected Trafford ahead of England’s friendly against Belgium after Sam Johnstone’s withdrawal. And his under-21 coach, Lee Carsley, insisted the goalkeeper has the temperament to cope with setbacks at club level.
“He’s very confident, very confident,” Carsley said. ‘We have talked about it. Okay, absolutely fine. I think sometimes, because he’s so low maintenance, you can almost go to some camps without talking to him much.
‘To develop resilience you have to be in these types of situations. “He will come back stronger.”
Burnley goalkeeper James Trafford has been promoted to the senior England team
Lee Carsley (left) has supported the goalkeeper to overcome the blow of losing his job at Burnley
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Wigan Athletic’s Sam Tickle is expected to pull on the gloves for Tuesday’s Under-21 Euro qualifier against Luxembourg.
England have been closely monitoring Trafford’s development after the former Manchester City stopper earned a £14million move to Turf Moor after an impressive Euro, keeping six clean sheets and saving a last-minute penalty in the final. against Spain.
“I think James deserves to be up there,” Carsley added. “I think he has shown, especially in what he has done for us, that he is an exceptional goalkeeper with great class potential.”
“He also has the mentality to go and fit into that group in terms of being a starter or being a supporting act.” He is a very interesting player in all aspects. He is playing in the Premier League at such a young age and has shown that he has all the attributes.”
