Exclusive: James Trafford praises Mary Earps, Emi Martinez for ‘inspiring’ next generation of goalkeepers

Burnley No. 1 James Trafford has praised Mary Earps and Emi Martinez for “inspiring” the next generation to want to become goalkeepers in the future.

Martinez has become a key figure for the Argentine national team after helping them to Copa America and World Cup success in recent years.

The goalkeeper was influential in Argentina’s penalty shootout victories in both competitions, and he has also been a standout performer in Aston Villa unexpected title charge this season.

Meanwhile, Earps has been in outstanding form for club and country with her performances helping England win the European Championships, before playing a pivotal role in guiding them to last year’s World Cup final.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with TNT Sports, Trafford explained how both goalkeepers, along with Manchester City’s Ederson, are helping change the perception of the position in the game.

“When I was younger and even it might be the same cases now where nobody really wanted to be a goalie,” he said. You got thrown in net if you weren’t very good outfield or if you were the youngest and that was the case with me.

“I had two older cousins, sister and I always got thrown in net because I was the youngest. As I’ve gone on, you saw with [Manuel] Neuer with the World Cup in Brazil in 2014, he was really good at being a sweeper keeper and being him.

“And when Ederson came into Man City, he completely transformed the team from the season before with how he is on the ball and how he defends space. Even now with Martinez, he’s shown a massive personality in penalty shootouts and Mary Earps in the women’s game, she’s doing incredible with winning the Sports Personality of the Year award.

“I feel like there’s a lot more people growing up wanting to be goalkeepers because these people that are in the spotlight like Mary Earps, Ederson, Martinez are really inspiring a lot of people to want to be a goalkeeper.”

It has been a rapid rise to the top level for Trafford at just the age of 20.

The youngster became the third-most expensive English goalkeeper in history after Burnley signed him from City for a deal worth £19 million in the summer.

Trafford impressed during his loan spell at Bolton where he became the first goalkeeper in the club’s history to keep four clean sheets in his opening four games, before recording a club-record nine successive home clean sheets.

He continued his fine form into last year’s U21 Euros with England where he didn’t concede a single goal throughout the tournament, and saved a last-minute penalty as England overcame Spain in the final.

Trafford said he takes inspiration from a variation of goalkeepers including Manchester United’s Andre Onana to Bolton goalkeeper Joel Dixon, with the help of Burnley goalkeeping coach Jelle ten Rouwelaar.

“I watch a lot of goalies at a lot of different levels and I have done since I really enjoyed goalkeeping,” he added. “From Jim Atkinson who plays in non-league at my local club who’s incredible with the ball and even Joe Dickson last year who I was with at Bolton, I learned a lot from him.

“I’ll watch a lot of clips on my own and with Jelle and we watch a lot of Onana, Alisson, [Mike] Maignan, [Jason] Steele – they’re the main ones we try and learn off because they all have individual things unique to them that I really like and I want to put my own personal touch on it and improve off them.

“Also, Courtois when he plays, Ter Stegen and Neuer so yeah, there’s a lot of goalies I really enjoy watching.”

Burnley manager Vincent Kompany was also full of praise for the way Trafford has performed in his debut campaign in the Premier League.

“He’s part of the people that I wanted to highlight in terms of what lives in this team,” Kompany told TNT Sports. “He’s been calm, consistent, really good in his effort and we know he has the talent.

“He’s shown already that he can play in this league so the only thing we’re demanding from all of these guys because he’s not the only one who’s shown that, but it’s that they show the level of consistency at this level that is required for us to keep our status in this league and maybe grow beyond it.”

One of the key attributes that Trafford highlighted for goalkeepers was how they need to be tough mentally in order to deal with making mistakes that can be costly to the team.

He also explained how goalkeepers can help outfield players with that side of the game both on and off the pitch.

“The mental side is really, really important It’s not a determining factor but it’s a big factor in how you play and whether you’re full of confidence,” he explained.

“As a goalkeeper, it’s not something that you want people to feel sorry for you with. If you had job requirements, it would be on that. You have to be strong mentally and if you’re not, you’re probably not a good goalkeeper.

“Every goalkeeper, whether you’re starting out at 16 or whether you’re me or someone like Neuer, you’re probably having challenges with the mental side of your game every day because it’s such a difficult thing and it’s so tough. You shouldn’t really for sorry for them because it’s part of the job, it’s what you have to do to play in net.

“I think there will be a lot of goalkeepers that do help outfield players in that mental aspect by going off past experience and being a leader. You see goalkeepers helping outfield players like Martinez when the team gets a free kick, he lines up the wall so the other keeper can’t stop it because he knows what the other goalie doesn’t want which is them in that exact position.

“I’ve heard about goalkeepers helping out the penalty taker. I think the importance of a goalkeeper off the pitch psychologically is always developing.

Trafford has been one of Burnley’s best players this season and pulled off some stunning saves in the process – he has made the second most saves in the Premier League with 84 this term.

The goalkeeper put on an excellent display during Burnley’s 1-1 draw at Brighton before making seven first-half saves in the defeat to Liverpool – the most by any goalkeeper in the league this season.

Trafford explained how the team are improving defensively and said his main goal isn’t to keep clean sheets but for Burnley to start picking up wins.

“We do take a lot of pride in them [clean sheets] but I’d rather win 4-3 rather than draw 0-0 but at the end of the day,” he said. “I’m not one to say that clean sheets are everything because obviously you go into every game wanting to keep a clean sheet.

“When we kept the first clean sheet against Sheffield United, it was good for belief as it showed we could shut a team out. And then we did it at Fulham and we’ve come close a few times and as a unit, we’ve learnt to absorb pressure and ride the wave of momentum and it’s just the constant development and getting better.”