WHETHER folk were predicting doom and gloom on his arrival or lauding him as ‘England’s Number One’ by the end of last weekend’s win against Ipswich, James Trafford is determined to take it all in his stride.

At the tender age of 19, the Cumbrian keeper kept a clean sheet on his debut for Bolton Wanderers, having known his new team-mates at Lostock for just 48 hours.

Concern had fluttered around social media that Ian Evatt had taken a risk bringing in such inexperienced competition for Joel Dixon but Trafford was able to filter out the noise and make a positive start to his time at the UniBol.

“You are aware of pressure but nothing really gets to me that much. I am calm,” he told The Bolton News.

“I saw a bit of it (social media) – and I was like ‘chill out, you haven’t actually seen me play!’ “Maybe they saw some highlights and some bad bits? But everyone has those.

“I tended not to go on Twitter because it’s a rough place at times.

“When I found out I was playing I just tried to focus on what I normally do. When the game came along then I knew if I gave 100 per cent, nobody would question my attitude. If they think I am a bad goalie, so be it, I won’t read it.”

Make no mistake, for a goalkeeper as young as Trafford to have trained at first team level for Manchester City, even sitting on the bench for Pep Guardiola’s all-conquering Blues, is significant achievement in itself.

But Trafford’s first loan away from the bosom of the Etihad and its neatly manicured lawns did not go entirely according to plan.

A spell with Accrington Stanley in League One saw him dropped after 11 games for homegrown keeper Toby Savin, and though that left Trafford considering his options for January, he insists the experience has helped him.

“The five months I spent at Accy has put me in good stead here because even though I’m young I know the league,” he said.

“I have seen more or less every team and I have played against half of them. Saturday (against Ipswich) didn’t come as a surprise.

“Even though I was around the first team environment at City it was a different experience in the lower leagues. At Accy, being around the pros every day made me grow up a lot.

“I have come here to contribute, push the other goalies, and see what we can achieve.”

Tactically, Trafford also feels he can get more out of his time at Bolton.

“I know a lot about the gaffer and how he got on at Barrow. I like how Bolton play, it’s how I was brought up and similar to City so it is helping my development,” he said.

“I learned loads during my time at Accrington but the simple thing is that I wasn’t playing and I felt my development would be better elsewhere.

“The gaffer there didn’t stand in my way to leave.

“A lot of clubs in League One play really direct, which I don’t see myself doing at City. It suits me with Bolton playing a high line, it’s the best for my development right now.

“The whole set up at Bolton suits me more. From the first day I enjoyed it, how professional it is, how I am used to. The gaffer and the lads drive each other.”

Trafford does not try to hide his ambition, predicting confidently that he will be Manchester City’s first choice keeper someday.

And the youngster recognises that to get to that lofty perch, he will have to sample all the different emotions that football can offer.

“Every goalie knows it is highly unlikely at 18 or 19 like me that you will make the breakthrough at a top club without going out on loan first,” he said.

“I want to develop, add more strings to my bow, play in front of crowds. I just feel like the exposure I am getting whether it’s good, bad or indifferent, makes me grow as a player.

“In five or 10 years this experience will have helped me, and at the moment I want to help the team.”

From the moment he nearly pulled his manager’s arm out of his socket when he introduced himself, Trafford has also made a big impression on the training ground.

The young keeper has been especially pleased by the welcome he received from Joel Dixon, who had held down the first-choice keeper spot at Bolton until his arrival.

“Joel has been really good to me. He hasn’t taken a bad swing to us, because it is natural when another keeper comes in maybe to think he is going to take the position but we have both worked hard.

“Adam Senior and George Thomason have been nice – playing darts, having food or a coffee – and the senior lads in the dressing room, nobody has taken against us because I have come from a big club, essentially, they have all given me time of day and helped me.

“Even though we all get along we demand a lot in training. If someone’s standard slips, they jump on it.

“I don’t know how far away from the relegation zone we were when I came in but it didn’t feel like a club that was close, or one that had been in a bad run of form. Training was sharp and the vibe was positive.”

With no shortage of help at City, including sage advice from veteran keeper Scott Carson, Trafford has studied plenty of his peers as he tries to make his way in the game.

“I like watching a lot of goalkeepers,” he said. “I try and watch a lot of Dean Henderson because he is from Cumbria and I have seen a lot of him through the years.

“I try and be unique and play how I enjoy it the most.

“Obviously you see players like Ederson, Allison, Mendy, Ramsdale and take stuff from them but I just try to be James Trafford.

“I just want to look forward to coming in training the next day, keep developing with the ball at my feet and try to contribute how I can.”

Trafford has certainly not arrived with a big-club attitude, but he has added some facial hair since the last time he took to the field at Accrington – denying that it was to distinguish him from well-known YouTuber, and Wanderers fan, Thogden.

“It came from the start of the season because I got sick of the stick I got from away fans asking if my mum has allowed me to come. I had to grow something,” he laughed.

“But Thogden has always wanted me to come to Bolton, he’s a good lad. I didn’t think it would happen!”