James Trafford has maintained his impressive Bolton while representing England at the European Under-21 Championships.

Trafford broke into Lee Carsley’s squad last summer after his consistent performances in League One caught the eye.

The athletic shot stopper is yet to concede at the tournament following victories against Czech Rebpulic, Isreal and most recently Germany on Wednesday night.

He has also impressed with his feet, setting up Liverpool midfielder Harvey Elliott’s goal against the young Germans at the Adjarabet Arena in Georgia. This was a key trait while playing in Ian Evatt’s system at Bolton.

The future looks very bright for Trafford, who insists the time he spent on loan with the Whites was massive in terms of his development.

“Bolton were brilliant for me and I was good for them,” the 20-year-old told BBC Sport. “I‘ve brought over the form that I ended the season with at Bolton and brought it here.”

Carsley’s side will now take on Portugal, who finished runners-up in Group A, in the quarter-final on Sunday.

“We’ve done really well, three wins from three,” Trafford added. “Everyone has played and we have played how we want to play. We have played really well as a team and the performances have shown that. 

“We are all positive and got every reason to be positive. We know that we have done our work in the groups, in the knockouts anything can happen – they are one off games. We will rest, recover, focus on Portugal and give it our best shot.” 

The has been lots of speculation over what the goalkeeper’s future holds, with a couple of Premier League sides reportedly interested in his services.

“I want to play at the highest level possible,” he stated. “Whatever happens I want to play at the highest level I can.”