Ambisi Trafford menjadi kiper utama tim nasional Inggris di bawah asuhan Thomas Tuchel menjadi alasan kuat di balik keinginannya hengkang dari posisi cadangan.
"History says yeah," aku Trafford saat ditanya mengenai keharusan menjadi pilihan utama di level klub demi mengamankan posisi di tim nasional.
Mantan pemain akademi Manchester City ini mengakui persaingan dengan Donnarumma yang didatangkan dari PSG memberikan pengalaman baru yang mendalam bagi perkembangan kariernya.
"There hasn't been a goalie start for any of the top nations that isn't a number one at the club," tambahnya.
Meskipun jarang tampil di liga, Trafford tercatat membantu Manchester City memenangkan trofi Piala FA dan Piala Carabao musim 2025/2026.
"It's been challenging the past season, but looking back, I've learned so much, I've developed so much.
I thought I'd had a lot of experiences up to this point in my career, but this was a new experience for me," lanjutnya.
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Dirinya menegaskan komitmen untuk selalu tampil maksimal di level tertinggi, terlepas dari keputusan klub mendatangkan penjaga gawang baru yang membatasi menit bermainnya.
"It was tough.
Some days were harder than others, but the one thing I wanted to keep doing was keep winning and improving every day," ucapnya.
Walaupun kecewa tidak menjadi pilihan utama, Trafford tetap bersyukur atas kontribusinya dalam raihan dua trofi domestik tersebut.
"I kept doing that and I came out the season having played a part in winning the two trophies that we did.
It was a challenging season, but I learned a lot for myself and for going forward in my career.
You have still got to perform at the highest level, and when I did move, if I would have become England's number one for the tournament, it would have been brilliant.
