Graham Alexander has revealed he would be “ready to act” if Bradford City needed to enter the free agent market.
The Bantams have been plagued with injuries this season, particularly at centre-back. Their last match at home to AFC Wimbledon saw the former MK Dons boss shift to a back-four system due to only having Cheick Diabate and Jack Shepherd available in the middle of the defence.
Whilst these concerns have been somewhat alleviated with Neill Byrne and Aden Baldwin edging closer to a return to training this week, City have been hit with the big blow of Ciaran Kelly having to undergo an operation. The Irish defender will be out for a lengthy period after surgery on an ankle injury he sustained against Walsall.
The strain on the depth did leave questions about looking for potential replacements, with Alexander being asked by BBC Radio Leeds if he would consider delving into the free agent market after the latest injury news. He said: “We are because I think even if we bring players back we need to consider who’s available and what condition they’re in.
“If anything happened again to any further players we would be in a difficult situation so we will keep those lines of observation open and be ready to act if needed.”
The Yorkshire club have also had concerns in midfield after losing summer signing Antoni Sarcevic a few weeks ago. With Alex Gillead sold to Shrewsbury Town and Kevin McDonald released, the knock to the former Stockport County and Bolton Wanderers man left just Richie Smallwood as Bradford’s only holding midfielder.
Jamie Walker was involved in training this week but fellow attacking midfielder Joe Adams is waiting for a scan on his knee injury. The Wigan Athletic loanee was a casualty of the game at Valley Parade last weekend, only playing 18 minutes against Wimbledon in a 0-0 draw.
When asked if he needed to make a move in the market, Alexander added: “I did maybe a week ago, so we put some feelers out and spoke to a couple of people.
“We’re just going to wait to see where Aden (Baldwin) and (Neill) Byrne are when they come back to training. But it’s not just that position, there’s another position we feel we’re a bit light on.
With Joe (Adams), Jamie (Walker) and (Antoni) Sarce missing, they’re all in a similar position. We’re just being observant at the moment and making sure we’re ready if we have to make a move.”
City play early on Saturday as they travel to local Yorkshire rivals Harrogate Town. Simon Weaver’s side are currently in 20th place but last season’s visit to Wetherby Road was arguably one of Bradford’s worst results of their campaign, being outclassed 3-0.
Writer’s View
It seems Bradford City are on the edge of whether they need to make additional transfers before January. With injuries being the main issue so far for the club this season, a move for one or two reliable options to be stopgaps whilst they wait for key players to return. Aden Baldwin and Neill Byrne are edging closer to return but with issues developing further up the pitch, a midfielder might be on the cards in the coming days.
Whilst having his own issues with fitness, Harry Chapman might have been an answer to this problem should they have kept him on the books. His performances at Barnet have been stellar so far and have aided them to top the National League with a quarter of the season gone. With Sarcevic also out though, any potential player coming through the door should be able to play as a box-to-box option alongside captain Richie Smallwood.
Football journalist with The Real EFL since 2023. A 2024 Multimedia Journalism graduate from the University of Salford, Lewis specialises in Salford City FC and EFL coverage.
