James Trafford placed in elite company as Leeds goalkeeper named as 'one to watch'

James Trafford has been worth every single penny for Leeds United so far this season.

The 24-year-old broke Leeds' transfer record when joining in a £40million move from Manchester City in the summer.

He'd proven himself to be an elite goalkeeper at Championship level, having enjoyed a remarkable 2024-25 campaign with Burnley.

Trafford conceded just 16 times in 45 second-tier games that season, keeping a staggering 29 clean sheets as the Clarets won automatic promotion behind Leeds.

But having remained largely unproven at Premier League level, his record-breaking move to Elland Road did elicit some general scepticism.

It's only taken him seven games to ensure all of those doubters have been silenced, and now the only talk surrounding Trafford is that of praise.

What did Asmir Begovic say about Leeds' James Trafford?

For a goalkeeper, there's no feedback nor praise more valuable than when it comes from another current/former shot-stopper.

Asmir Begovic played 256 times in the Premier League, as well as over 100 times in the Championship and made a handful of European outings too.

The 39-year-old was being interviewed on talkSPORT on Friday morning, and the topic of Premier League goalkeeping and it's current standard cropped up in conversation.

Begovic was very complimentary of not only the standard on display in the top flight right now, but went as far as singling out Trafford for some high praise.

"If you look at the standard of goalkeeping now in the Premier League, I think it's actually very, very high," the ex-Everton, Stoke and Chelsea keeper said.

"You look at the likes of David Raya, Alisson, [Gianluigi] Donnarumma, Jordan Pickford, Dean Henderson. So many top goalkeepers playing in the Premier League now.

"James Trafford is one to watch. Obviously he's been doing incredibly well at Leeds. So yeah I think the standard is really, really high and it’s great to see."

So, just how good have Trafford's underlying numbers been this season, and where does he rank amongst his Premier League rivals?

Where Trafford leads all Premier League goalkeepers this season

Leeds currently sit seventh in the Premier League this season, and much of that has been down to Trafford's performances between the sticks.

He's conceded a very respectable six goals in seven games, and per FotMob, has made zero errors leading to goals.

No Premier League shot-stopper has made more saves (26) or acted as a sweeper (11) more times than Trafford in 2026-27.

Meanwhile, he also leads the top flight with his 81.3 per cent save percentage.

No team can be successful without a safe pair of hands in goal, and Trafford clearly has the ability and potential to be so much more than that.

Now a senior England international, the sky really is the limit for him, and the big worry at Leeds now isn't his Premier League readiness, but how long they can keep him for.