Bid Rejected In Bradford City Transfer Saga

Bradford City‘s Jake Young has been the subject of a major transfer battle over the past week and The Bantams have now turned down a deal on deadline day.

Graham Alexander had previously confirmed offers had been made for the striker following the game against Bromley, and a bid had been accepted. Pete O’Rourke had later revealed that the club in question was Fleetwood Town.

Alan Nixon then confirmed that Crawley Town and Stevenage were also interested and now the latter have made their move for the 23-year-old. According to Simon Parker of the Telegraph and Argus, Bradford City have turned down a bid from the Hertfordshire club, who offered an amount south of the one offered by Fleetwood.

Young returned to Valley Parade in January after being sent on loan to Swindon Town by Mark Hughes. He was seen as an attacking option alongside Andy Cook under Alexander but an injury curtailed his season short, and has since become a targetted asset over the summer.

Following his return from The County Ground, he was in demand then with League One clubs bidding for his services but ultimately remained at The Bantams. He arrived at Valley Parade from Forest Green Rovers in 2022 and also had a loan stint at Barrow.

Speaking to the media ahead of their match at home to Bromley, Alexander spoke about the rumour mill effects on Young. He said (Quotes via Yorkshire Post): “Potentially it has (effected him), looking at it from my experience of football. It’s difficult for the players to handle these scenarios but he has experience of it because it was the case in January for virtually the whole month until we got him on the pitch.

“It’s a similar scenario now so he will have better experience to manage this situation but from what I see and feel, and I do get a feel for this because I do spend a lot of time around the players, I feel there’s a distraction with Jake.

“We’ll just see what the next 10 days bring. If I had a £1 I wouldn’t know which side of the bet to put it on. I have to take a step back from that scenario and focus on players 100 per cent focused on Bradford.”

Writer’s View

Jake Young’s future is still in the air but it does seem a move away is close. With the amounts being suggested in mind it would seem Bradford City would make some good money from this move. Calum Kavanagh and Andy Cook has been the main choices for Alexander this season and Young has been absent from many of the matchday squads so far. Stevenage will probably make a second move before the window shuts but what Crawley Town will do is still up in the air.

City had the potential to make a lot out of Young earlier this year but opted not to. Should a sale be sanctioned lower than the price suggested back then, the decision would ultimately have been a blunder. It is clear that the 23-year-old has thrived when away from West Yorkshire and hasn’t really delivered in the time he was. Bobby Pointon and Kavanagh are a good support crew to City’s number nine so it wouldn’t be the worst of blows to the squad.