The Leeds United goalkeeper has ambitions to be England number one - and many back him to

James Trafford will be Jordan Pickford’s successor as England number one, in the mind of former Leeds United goalkeeper Paul Robinson.

Trafford was handed his first two competitive international starts by Tomas Tuchel during the last international break, one of them notably coming in the 3-2 Nations League defeat to world champions Spain.

The Leeds shot-stopper went on to keep a clean sheet against Czechia away from home before Pickford came in for the final two games of the four-fixture block. Tuchel explained that he wanted to see how Trafford would fare in competitive action after a good start with Leeds.

Many see the 24-year-old as on the trajectory to being the next England number one, with some questioning how long Pickford has his name locked down on the teamsheet ahead of Euro 2028.

The Everton goalkeeper will be 34 by the time the home tournament comes around, and Trafford will be 26. Robinson - who earned 41 caps for England, including five at World Cups - believes Pickford still holds the spot for now, but Tuchel sees Trafford as the succession plan.

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“I know for a fact that Thomas Tuchel likes him and sees him as the continuity after Jordan Pickford,” Robinson told Leeds Live. “Jordan Pickford for me is undoubtedly England’s number one if you see what he’s done at tournaments and the level he’s performed at.

“But we’re not talking about a replacement for Jordan Pickford now, we’re talking about the future of England goalkeepers.

“James has a handful of caps and for the manager to show the faith in him that he did against world champions Spain at Wembley in the Nations League, that gives him a little bit of incentive.

“He knows that he’s in the manager's thinking and that he’s going to be the continuity plan. He may not play every game, which he obviously won’t, but the manager likes him and has given him the opportunity.”

Robinson added: “We’re so guilty as a nation when we go into major tournaments that the number one will have 60 or so caps, when the two other keepers won’t have 10 between them.

“I like what Thomas Tuchel is doing by giving Trafford the opportunity to play in games, play in meaningful games and not to not just give him a cap for the sake of it by playing him in games that don’t have any importance.

“Coming to Leeds, he’s grown in stature, he’s grown as a goalkeeper and there’s a lot more to come from him.”