England under-21 boss Lee Carsley admits he was concerned that James Trafford's impending £15m transfer from Manchester City to Burnley would affect his form for the Young Lions at the U21 Euros.
Carsley needn't have worried, as Trafford kept six successive clean sheets throughout the tournament and made an incredible injury-time penalty save in the final, saving the follow-up as well to secure the European Championship for England.
Midway through the tournament, news emerged that City and Burnley had agreed a fee of £15m, potentially rising to £19m, for Trafford. While there were some eyebrows raised at the fee for a 20-year-old, his Euro performances catapulted him onto the back pages and into the public eye.
For Carsley, though, his own doubts were quickly erased after working with Trafford and seeing his mentality during England camps.
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"You always worry - you're mindful when there's transfer things going on in the background and how that affects the players," Carsley said.
"There's three or four of them that have things going on in the background. The big thing for us is that he understood we were there to support him.
"I think he'll be absolutely fine. Wherever he goes and wherever he plays, he's got a really top mentality. He's been outstanding through the tournament. Not conceding a goal is a great achievement. He's been a really important part of us playing out from the back and playing through."
Trafford himself played down his penalty heroics, saying he knew he would save the 96th-minute spot kick after telling friends in the build-up that he would save a penalty in the final.
"I thought James showed real determination in all of the games to keep the ball out of the net," Carsley said of Trafford's behind-the-scenes preparations.
"We practised penalties for 10 minutes every day for the past month at the end of sessions. James has had mixed success, which happens when you're taking so many penalties.
"But the amount of work that goes in from the goalkeeper department on penalties and potentially where the players might go has really helped tonight."
