As the Lee Carsley interim era comes to an end, Thomas Tuchel must now set to work shaping an England squad capable of winning the 2026 World Cup. Yet whereas he has a plethora of options in outfield positions and the difficulty will be fitting them in a cohesive team , goalkeeper remains a problematic position. Jordan Pickford has been England’s No 1 throughout Gareth Southgate’s time , but in seven years he has rarely had a convincing challenger for his place and has always been the solid, dependable goalkeeper, rather than an outstanding one.
The most obvious options for Tuchel to try a different approach are Dean Henderson, at Crystal Palace, Newcastle goalkeeper Nick Pope, and Aaron Ramsdale, forced to move to Southampton in the summer after he was replaced as Arsenal’s first choice. None feel like a significant upgrade. Read Next Declan Rice's spot is under threat after emergence of a new England star Is it time for a fresh approach to find England’s next No 1? There is a young wildcard quietly working wonders in the Championship , a clean sheet specialist who set records as a European Championship winning Under-21 goalkeeper and honed his passing game at Manchester City — the latter a vital attribute under Tuchel.
James Trafford is the 6ft 6ins 22-year-old helping Burnley maintain the best defensive record in the Championship. He’s kept eight clean sheets in 14 matches, while Burnley have conceded only six times in the league all season. Trafford left Manch.