James Trafford is giving Leeds United exactly what they need as Jordan Pickford England battle heats up

Not since the days of Nigel Martyn has ‘England’s No.1’ rang around Elland Road - at least not with any seriousness behind it - but it’s quickly become a staple of the Leeds United hymn sheet this season.

It was belted out again during Sunday’s 0-0 draw with Crystal Palace, a game in which Leeds were noticeably off the pace but solid enough to keep a clean sheet and extend their unbeaten league run to five games. Daniel Farke’s side head into the international break in fifth-place and with the joint-best defensive record in the Premier League, conceding just three goals.

That defensive record is the product of impressive starts to the season across the back line. Tarik Muharemovic has been outstanding since his £34m move from Sassuolo while Nico Elvedi has settled in quickly to provide competition for - and currently usurp - Jaka Bijol. Joe Rodon and then James Justin have been dependable as ever.

Behind them, James Trafford is getting the regular football he craved when leaving Manchester City and putting in the level of performance that will have England boss Thomas Tuchel thinking. That Everton’s Jordan Pickford has also conceded just three Premier League goals won’t help his cause but Leeds won’t mind - their own No.1 spot is sorted.

“We all know James Trafford is an unbelievable goalkeeper. For me, already England’s number one,” new teammate Muharemovic said on Sunday while sporting a cheeky smile. “I think it's really important to have someone like him in goal. I'm really happy to share the pitch with him, share the stage with him, and he's just doing his job very, very well. I hope he keeps playing like this, and I hope he will be the new number one.”

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Trafford is yet to produce the kind of match-winning performance for Leeds that Pickford has done so many times over the years at Everton, but the 23-year-old has been brilliant in an almost understated way. In terms of shot-stopping there have been none better in the Premier League, the Leeds man making 20 saves at a success rate of exactly 87 per cent according to Opta.

No other top-flight goalkeeper has stopped more shots or done so with such a high save percentage, Trafford’s England teammate Pickford sitting second in the latter metric with 15 shots saved and a success rate of 83.3 per cent. Leeds’ three goals conceded have come from an Expected Goals On Target of 4.0, essentially suggesting the former Manchester City man has prevented one goal already.

Trafford has his defensive teammates to thank for part of that record at least, with his goals prevented numbers bettered by the likes of Pickford, Gianluigi Donnarumma and Bart Verbruggen. The fact he is making a lot of saves but not facing a huge Expected Goals total speaks to the quality of chance Leeds’ opponents are being reduced to.

Against Palace on Sunday, for example, Leeds faced 12 shots but an xG of just 1.06, averaging out at around 0.08xG per shot. That is in keeping with their average across five Premier League games so far, with xG per shot of 0.09 the joint-second lowest in the division behind Arsenal at 0.08. Furthermore, only 57.5 per cent of shots faced by the Whites are from inside the box, with only Brentford (56.7 per cent) and the Gunners (49.1 per cent) facing a lower proportion.

Essentially, those numbers suggest Leeds are allowing shots on their goal but not conceding high-value chances that are more likely to result in a goal. That, coupled with having a goalkeeper who is saving just about everything he’s expected to, plus a little more, is a great recipe for a strong defensive record - and why theirs is joint-best in the league.

Trafford is doing exactly what he was bought to do. That might sound simple but for those who have attended Elland Road regularly over the 23 years since Nigel Martyn’s exit, it is no given. This international break might come too soon for him to threaten Pickford with England but back in West Yorkshire, the No.1 shirt is firmly his. Leeds will hope it remains that way for years to come.