Scott Parker hailed James Trafford as a future England goalkeeper after he made two late penalty saves to help Burnley hang on for a goalless draw with Sunderland that leaves them level on points with Championship leaders Leeds.
In a remarkable finish at Turf Moor, Trafford twice denied Wilson Isidor from the spot, first in the 86th minute and then in the sixth minute of time added on, with the Burnley faithful celebrating their eighth goalless draw of the season as if it had been a win.
Trafford has been a penalty hero before, saving a stoppage-time spot-kick against Spain as England won the final of the European Under-21s Championships 1-0 in 2023. The 22-year-old received a first senior call-up last March, and Parker believes he will one day be a regular for his country.
“I think so,” the former England captain said. “In terms of what we’ve seen from him this is a boy with absolutely humungous potential. I still think there’s so much more to come from him.”
Trafford has endured difficulties early in his career. Installed as Burnley’s number one at the start of last season after a £15million move from Manchester City, he lost his place as the Clarets struggled in the top flight, but seems to have come back from the experience stronger for it.
“I’ve got nothing but positives to say about James,” Parker added. “When I first came in there were some struggles and he came out the back of a season last year that was difficult for Traf, a young boy, going into that division, he had some hard times.
“But this is a special keeper with absolutely huge potential. You see that confidence. He believes in himself and to get to that top, top level you have to have that certain belief, that arrogance. He’s got that and he backs it up.”
Trafford’s confidence was on show as he made Isidor wait to take both penalties, claiming in a post-match interview he had to remove his gloves before the first spot-kick to tie his laces before then needing treatment from the physio on his hamstring. Whatever the truth, it worked.
“I think that’s probably him, really,” Parker said. “Over the last four or five months we’ve seen him maturing, understanding certain things and (you see that) in the way he went about what he needed to do.
“He was a guy in the spotlight tonight and I get the impression Traf loved every second of that.”
A win kept Burnley off the top of the table, but Parker saw it as a “massive” result all the same.
“In the scheme of things, where the game was and the dynamics of the game, I think coming away from it, it was a huge point for us. Two penalties, this game could look very different if it wasn’t for James Trafford and the saves he’s made,” he said.
Isidor had to be consoled by his team-mates at the final whistle after blowing two opportunities to put Sunderland above Burnley in the table.
“He’s disappointed, like the team,” Sunderland boss Regis Le Bris said. “Football is like this. We have to make decisions, you make mistakes and you learn from them. That’s the best way to improve…
“We take the positives because it’s a tough place to play. We struggled for the first 20 minutes…but after that we were more aggressive, higher up the pitch and we started to dominate the game and we created five or six big chances.
“We can be disappointed because we didn’t score but it shows we are consistent, it shows we have good qualities and it’s a good sign for us.”
