Newcastle wants to conclude a deal for Burnley goalkeeper James Trafford who can plain the way for newly promoted Leeds United to sign England International Nick Pope
Leeds United is looking at a dive for Nick Pope prior to their return to the Premier League, with Newcastle reportedly open to the sale of the goalkeeper if they can sign a replacement. Pope played for Newcastle since he was done in 2022, making it almost 100 performances for the club.
However, he could be set to leave St James' park after three years when Newcastle is successful in their renewed striving for Burnley -goalkeeper James Trafford.
Newcastle tried to sign Trafford last summer, but the deal fell on and the 22-year-old then played Burnley promotion at the championship.
Last season, Trafford held 29 clean sheets in 45 league games and a report from the Daily Mail states that Newcastle 'expects' the English international to sign for a reimbursement of around £ 30 million this summer.
When the Trafford deal is completed, it can clear the way for Leeds to sign Pope while looking for an upgrade on Ilan Meslier. Meslier has made some major mistakes at Leeds and it is claimed that the club would like to sign a replacement while they want to prevent relegation.
It is said that Leeds has applied for Liverpool goalkeeper Cooimhin Kelleher, but the 26-year-old is ready to join Brentford, instead after they have concluded a £ 18 million deal with the Reds.
Kelleher is currently acting as a backup to Alisson, but with Giorgi Mamardashvili who arrives from Valencia this summer, he would slide further over the pecking order. And Kelleher openly spoke about his desire for more playing time.
“Yes, yes, for sure,” he said last month. “I also said it before, I feel that I am good enough to be a number 1 and I feel that I am good enough to play out week in week and that is what I want to do.
“This season I was lucky to play a lot of games, but it is definitely something I am looking at.” News about the expected relocation from Kelleher to Brentford comes after it has been revealed that the bees have been set to sell the current first choice -goalkeeper Mark Flekken to Bayer Leverkusen.
The deal will not be the first time that Brentford and Liverpool have done business with each other in recent seasons, with Fabio Carvalho and Sepp van den Berg both the switch from Anfield to West -London last summer.