Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola believes James Trafford will become England’s number one goalkeeper “sooner or later.”

The 23-year-old started the season as City’s first-choice keeper after returning from Burnley in the summer, playing the opening three Premier League games. However, he has been on the bench since the deadline-day arrival of Gianluigi Donnarumma from Paris Saint-Germain. Trafford did feature in City’s Carabao Cup third-round win at Huddersfield and is expected to start in Wednesday’s trip to Swansea in the same competition (19:45 GMT).

Guardiola praised Trafford’s attitude and professionalism. “The keeper is a special situation because normally only one plays, and the second one doesn’t,” he said. “All I can say is we are delighted with his behaviour in training. One of the reasons we want to progress in this competition is that everyone has to be ready in case we need them in the Premier League and Champions League.”

Everton’s Jordan Pickford, with 80 caps, is England’s undisputed number one and currently on a record run of nine consecutive clean sheets. There is some debate over whether Pickford or Trafford is the most expensive British goalkeeper. City sources put Trafford’s move at £27m plus add-ons, while Burnley sources say £31m plus add-ons and a sell-on clause, potentially surpassing Pickford’s £30m record transfer from Sunderland to Everton in 2017.

Guardiola confirmed he has spoken with Trafford and other players about game time concerns during a World Cup year. Trafford is yet to win a senior England cap but has been included in the last four squads after helping England’s Under-21s win the 2023 European Championship without conceding a goal.

He added: “We have an incredible keeper. For England, sooner or later, he will be the one. I am pretty sure Gigi learns from James and James learns from Gigi. The goalkeepers are always connected.”