Graham Alexander has confirmed that Bradford City have been looking at free agent Sam Clucas as the Bantams look to make a few moves prior to deadline day.
It has been a great start to the season at Valley Parade, with the club maintaining a 100% unbeaten record across all competitions, and that run continued with one of their usual League Cup upsets to take out Championship promotion hopefuls Burnley in a penalty shootout.
Alexander Reveals Clucas Trial
However, it seems that Bradford are not done with their summer business just yet, with news of a couple of deals breaking in the past few days.
Firstly, reports came that a loan move for Blackburn Rovers‘ George Pratt could be on the cards, with some outlets suggesting that a deal to bring the left-sided centre-back to his hometown club was advanced.
Now, after speaking with BBC Radio Leeds’ Jamie Raynor in the wake of their victory over Burnley, Graham Alexander would not comment on whether Pratt would join, but did confirm that Sam Clucas was training with the Bantams.
The veteran left Shrewsbury Town after terminating his contract earlier this month, with the former Stoke City man becoming somewhat of a nomad in recent seasons, having also featured for Lincoln City, Rotherham United and Oldham Athletic since 2024.
Alexander confirmed that no deal had been struck for the 35-year-old, but the club are examining him over a potential move, with no restriction as to when he could sign for the Paraders ahead of Tuesday’s deadline.
“Yeah, he’s been training with us for a couple of days; that’s what it is. He’s a player everybody knows about, and we’re just having a look at him as we’ve done all pre-season.
We’re not going to shut down any avenue in the recruitment market to try and find the right player, so Sam’s been training with us for a couple of days and we’ll extend that for a little bit longer.”
Is Clucas The Right Signing?
While they have had an excellent start to their season, there may be a few points of weakness in the Bradford City squad that could become exposed should injuries take their toll on key players.
That was somewhat seen last night with Aden Baldwin, who has been an outstanding defender in the Bantams’ side over the past year, forced out of action due to injury.
Should the rumour that George Pratt is heading to Valley Parade on loan come to fruition, then that should address that issue, but there are still a couple of troublesome spots, particularly in midfield and at right wing-back, where both Adam Phillips and Kayden Jackson were forced to deputise for Josh Neufville against the Clarets.
Sam Clucas’ addition could be a good step towards solving their depth worries in the middle of the park, and while he may not be the most exciting of deals to make, his experience cannot be understated, and if Graham Alexander feels he is the right man, then the 35-year-old may be a regular fixture at Bradford.
Not having the most exciting of campaigns with Shrewsbury Town, he still put in a solid job as a leadership figure for Michael Appleton’s side, and was certainly dependable up until a hamstring injury blighted the remainder of his season.
However, with Neufville’s absence in midweek, a final face to play out wide in the defence should be the number one priority before Tuesday, especially with Tyreik Wright still on the sidelines.
