England set to axe Newcastle target as Toon identify alternative to £35m man - Report

It looks like James Trafford is set to become the latest player dropped from Gareth Southgate's England squad after James Maddison, Curtis Jones and Jarell Quansah's failed to make the final 26.

The 21-year-old stopper has been linked with a host of clubs since Burnley's relegated back to the Championship, with Newcastle, Bayern Munich and Chelsea all thought to be keen. However, if reports over the past 24 hours are to be believed, it sounds like Eddie Howe is ready to make a move.

According to the Northern Echo, Newcastle have been in talks with Valencia's Giorgo Mamardashvili, but the club are reluctant to pay the La Liga side's £35m asking price, feeling this is a big chunk of our budget for a player who would compete with Nick Pope for the No 1 jersey.

Toon chiefs also 'fear' the Georgian's asking price could rise even further if he impresses at Euro 2024 and the Echo believe we are ready to turn our attentions to Trafford as a result.

They report that we've already to held 'preliminary talks' to make the Clarets shot-stopper known, feeling he will be considerably cheaper than Mamardashvili or Arsenal's Aaron Ramsdale, but a player of huge potential who could become Pope's successor in time.

It'll be interesting to see how this plays out, especially when Trafford is expected to leave the England camp just as Mamardashvili prepares to represent Georgia in Germany.

Elsewhere, Craig Hope reports that Anthony Gordon will train with England today after recovering from ankle issue that kept him out of Monday's win over Bosnia. He could feature in tomorrow's final warm-up clash with Iceland, but there's growing fears around Harry Maguire's injury that could see him miss out on the 26-man squad.

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