Burnley’s summer transfer window is very much in full swing as the club continues to prepare for the new season.
The Clarets had a bit of a delay to their summer as their search for a new manager took longer than anticipated before leading them to Scott Parker. But the club is now making up for it and they have signed six new players for the upcoming campaign.
One of those additions is a goalkeeper in Vaclav Hladky, but even with that addition, Burnley are being linked with a move for another shot-stopper in the form of Mark Travers.
The Clarets have seen three goalkeepers leave the club over the course of this summer, with Arijanet Muric joining Ipswich Town, Bailey Peacock-Farrell going to Birmingham City, and Lawrence Vigouroux signing for Swansea City.
Burnley hold an interest in Mark Travers
It was reported by The Sun journalist Alan Nixon last weekend that Burnley have AFC Bournemouth goalkeeper under consideration this summer.
Nixon states that the Republic of Ireland goalkeeper is a consideration for the club should Burnley lose James Trafford in a deal that would be their fourth goalkeeping departure.
Trafford has been heavily linked with a move away in this transfer window, with teams such as Newcastle United keen on landing the young England shot-stopper.
Therefore, Nixon adds that if Trafford were to leave Turf Moor this summer, then Parker would eye a reunion with Travers, after the pair worked together at Bournemouth.
It is believed that Travers would likely come at a cut-price transfer, given that he has fallen down the pecking order with the Cherries. However, he has impressed with Bournemouth when playing, especially in the Championship, and that could make him a valuable asset.
Mark Travers’ record in the Championship
In Travers’ career so far, the goalkeeper has more experience playing in the Championship than he does in the Premier League.
The 25-year-old first broke onto the scene for the Cherries in the 2018/19 Premier League season, playing two games.
He then featured once the following season before spending time on loan at Swindon Town. He returned to Bournemouth, and, while he had to be patient at first, in the 2021/22 season, he got his chance to play.
Travers played 45 times in the Championship that season under now-Burnley boss Parker. In those games, Travers kept an impressive 20 clean sheets after only conceding 39 goals.
The goalkeeper played a key role in helping the Cherries return to the Premier League under Parker. He was conceding just 0.9 goals per game, which wasn’t a surprise given he was averaging 2.6 saves per match.
He made a total of 119 saves that season and had zero errors that led to any goal he conceded, as per Sofascore.com.
Since that campaign, the Irishman spent some of last season back playing in the second tier, when he joined Stoke City on loan. Travers played 13 times for the Potters, conceding 18 goals and keeping two clean sheets.
Burnley should sign Travers, whether Trafford stays or not
Trafford only joined Burnley last summer, and it was a mixed bag for the goalkeeper in his first campaign. He started the season as the club’s number one choice but lost his starting spot to Muric as the campaign came to a close.
It was the 21-year-old’s first taste of Premier League football, so there were expected to be ups and downs throughout the season.
The goalkeeper conceded 2.2 goals per game but made 106 saves in total, averaging 3.8 per match. His shot-stopping was never in question, yet Trafford conceded 62 goals in total. Only one direct error led to a goal, though, as per Sofascore.com.
It is hard to compare Travers’ stats in the 2021/22 season to Trafford’s from last season. Both played in different leagues, with different teams at contrasting ends of the table.
Trafford is likely going to be Burnley’s number one goalkeeper this season unless a move out materialises given his transfer fee and potential, but as for any team, it is always good to have competition for places.
Trafford is still very young and does lack experience. Like last season with Vincent Kompany, there could be moments where Parker decides to take Trafford out of the team, and it is good for there to be solid replacements if needed.
The club has added Hladky to their squad for that reason. He is experienced and at the opposite end of his career to Trafford, winning promotion with Ipswich last season in the Championship.
This time 12 months ago, though, Burnley had a pool of very good goalkeepers on their books in Trafford, Muric, Peacock-Farrell, and Vigouroux – albeit loans were afforded as Trafford and Muric battled for a starting spot. You wouldn’t be surprised if Parker would like to have something similar this season, and with Trafford’s future still up in the air, adding Travers would be a very wise move from the Clarets at this stage of the transfer window, even if it’s punchy to believe Burnley could carry Trafford, Hladky and Travers throughout the 2024/25 campaign.
Travers is someone who has worked with the Burnley manager before; he knows what Parker wants from his goalkeeper, and the Irishman really enjoyed his time under him as he excelled for Bournemouth.
If there is a deal to be done, and it is low-cost for Burnley, then they should look to get Travers in, whether Trafford remains at the club or not for the time being.
