---
title: "James Trafford names his Man City highlight of the season"
canonical: "https://readmancity.com/2026/06/01/james-trafford-names-his-man-city-highlight-of-the-season/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Samuel Johnson"
section: "Man City News"
published: "2026-06-01T16:15:00Z"
modified: "2026-06-01T16:15:00Z"
---

# James Trafford names his Man City highlight of the season

- Trafford picks his favourite moment of the 2025/26 campaign
- It has nothing to do with the Manchester City goalkeeper
- But he did make important contributions in the same game

**James Trafford has selected his biggest highlight of the season, and it involves a match which saw him keep a clean sheet.**

There have been highs and lows in Man City’s season, and the same is true for James Trafford on an individual level.

The Citizens won two domestic cup competitions, but were unable to secure the Premier League title for a second successive season.

Trafford started each one of City’s Carabao Cup and FA Cup fixtures. However, he only made four appearances in the league, with Gianluigi Donnarumma preferred by Pep Guardiola.

So when it comes to picking his highlight of the season, Trafford does not have a huge amount to choose from.

## James Trafford reflects on the Carabao Cup final

Speaking with [Man City’s official club magazine](https://www.mancity.com/features/june2026/citymag/), Trafford has revealed that his highlight of the year has been the League Cup final.

Specifically, the goalkeeper has pinpointed Nico O’Reilly’s headed effort which saw City double their lead against Arsenal.

“My highlight?” he asked. “I’d have to say Nico \[O’Reilly\] scoring the second goal against Arsenal.

“Yeah, I’d go for that because of the belief we had after the first goal went in, and then after his second, we had a two-goal lead  to defend.

“I think everyone in the stadium felt it too. As soon as that second hit the back of the net, we felt the game was done,” he continued.

“It was such a good moment for us, because Arsenal are such a great team and we had a bit of a rocky week or two weeks before we played the final.

“In a major final, it could have been one of the first times City weren’t the favourites going into the game.”

## Trafford had his own moment of brilliance during the match

While Trafford has gone for O’Reilly’s heroics as his end-of-season highlight, he could easily have named a moment he himself delivered.

During the first half, the 23-year-old pulled off a terrific triple stop which prevented Arsenal from taking the lead.

In total, Trafford prevented 0.74 goals and made four saves, all of which were to deny shots struck inside his penalty area.

And a couple of months later, the England international was on song again, keeping a clean sheet in the FA Cup final against Chelsea.

## Man City could sell Trafford this summer

No Man City supporter wants to see Trafford sold. Nevertheless, Donnarumma has been the club’s main goalkeeper this season.

There is always the chance this could change, but is City’s impending new boss Enzo Maresca really going to drop a fellow Italian?

[Man City have already made plans to replace Trafford](https://readmancity.com/2026/05/26/man-city-already-have-plans-to-replace-james-trafford-this-summer/), with Pierce Charles potentially set for a summer arrival at the Etihad Stadium.

Ultimately, this is a decision which the Sky Blues could live to regret. However, if Trafford is not going to be a regular starter, it is only so long before he pushes for a move.