Sheffield Wednesday Handed Transfer Blow As League One Rivals Poach Free Agent Target

Bradford City have agreed a deal with defender Reece Welch, who had been a long-standing transfer target for Sheffield Wednesday.

The Owls were credited with interest in the former Everton man in June by Football Insider, after the 22-year-old hit the free agent market following his exit from Merseyside this summer.

Bantams Strike Deal

Now, according to Pete O’Rourke through his social media channels, Bradford City have now agreed terms with Welch after having him on trial with the club for the past few weeks.

The former Forest Green Rovers man had been pictured in Austria during the Bantams’ pre-season training camp, also alongside fellow trialists Aaron Lewis, Ben Heneghan and Reece James.

In an update on their situations following City’s pre-season win at home against Championship side Preston North End, BBC Radio Leeds’ Jamie Raynor stated that Graham Alexander was a ‘big fan’ of the defender, stating a deal was likely, and conversations with Lewis would happen today.

Bradford have signed a few defensive options in this window, most notably Macaulay Gillesphey and Callum Connolly, with the latter joining on a free transfer from Stockport County to play in a midfield role.

Sheffield Wednesday have been exploring plenty of options in the free agent market this window following confirmation that they have an EFL-agreed spending cap imposed upon them.

They have already recruited new defensive options to support Liam Palmer heading into League One, having struck a loan deal with Aston Villa for Sil Swinkels.

Bradford Transfer Priority Must Shift

After weeks of trials for Reece Welch, it seems that the defender has now convinced Bradford City enough that he is capable of playing for the club full-time.

Having rarely been handed opportunities to play outside a fruitful loan spell earlier in his career at Forest Green Rovers, a move to City should see him get a lot more minutes, but will face plenty of competition to find a place in Graham Alexander’s back three system.

Now with him through the door, Bradford have less than two weeks to make any further improvements to their ranks ahead of their first game of the season and one key position should be the main priority.

Following the sales of both Max Power and Jenson Metcalfe, it could be argued that the Bantams haven’t done enough to address their absences, and while Harvey Cartwright looks a shrewd addition, finding him a partner will be crucial.

While Callum Connolly has been brought in as a midfielder, the jury is still out as to whether he can regain his form in the position having played more defensively, and adding further depth to the position alongside that duo and Antoni Sarcevic could be crucial if injuries start to hit.

Owls Focus Elsewhere

Reece Welch was an early-window target for Sheffield Wednesday, but this latest transfer setback will not do much to affect their transfer planning for the remainder of the window.

Already hosting an abundance of defensive options in their ranks heading into this season, which has been added to with Sil Swinkels, losing out on the former Everton man is not a massive worry for a squad that just needs a couple of final touches.

A new left-back to support Max Lowe should be the number one target now following radio silence in their hunt for ex-Owl Tayo Adaramola and the loan exit of Reece Johnson to Eastleigh.

With their transfer restrictions now at play, moving back in for their former loanee for another temporary spell could be the path forward to securing enough depth to see out the season.