Preston North End have shelled out a reported £500,000 to Bradford City after finalising their deal to bring Graham Alexander back to Deepdale.
The Lilywhites had been pushing hard over the past week in their search for a replacement for Paul Heckingbottom, and landed on their former player, who had been excelling with the League One-topping Bantams after five wins from seven games on top of a place in the last 16 of the EFL Cup.
City’s Reading Plans Revealed
Now, after frequent speculation, which had also seen former Celtic target Robbie Keane and Walsall’s Lee Grant linked with the job at Preston, the Championship strugglers have finally landed on their man in Alexander, who is set to be confirmed as the new boss today.
According to Simon Parker of the Telegraph & Argus, it is a deal which has cost the Lancashire side a reported £500,000 to complete, marking the highest fee received by Bradford for a manager, eclipsing the £200,000 Sheffield Wednesday paid to secure Paul Jewell at the turn of the millennium.
He is also set to be joined at Deepdale by his assistant and another fellow North End alum, Chris Lucketti, with training today for City being overseen by three-time interim boss Mark Trueman.
Parker also notes that is ‘likely’ that the 38-year-old will be the one leading the team from the dugout for their match against Reading at the weekend, supported by goalkeeping coach Colin Doyle.
Candidates have already been floated around as a potential successor to Alexander at Valley Parade, including Paul Heckingbottom, with Alan Nixon previously reporting that the former Bantams player, alongside club icon Stuart McCall, could be in the frame.
Is Heckingbottom The Right Man For The Job?
With Graham Alexander’s era of upheaval at Bradford City drawing to an end, the job now for whoever replaces him in the hot seat is to find a way to continue the momentum that has been generated.
Paul Heckingbottom is the only name that has been fully touted as a potential successor as it stands, and given his and Stuart McCall’s past associations with the club, it does feel like a sensible choice on paper.
However, whether it is the path City should go down remains another question, as for some, McCall’s last tenure was a bleak showing of the decay that had been setting in at Valley Parade, and with Heckingbottom’s recent record, it may not prove to be an appealing avenue to go down.
The standout name that has been suggested is, of course, Dave Challinor, having overseen another club’s revitalisation at Stockport County, hauling them from non-league to the cusp of the Championship on two occasions.
While there may definitely be some concerns about whether he could view some of his former players, like Antoni Sarcevic or Callum Connolly, as figures who may be replaced in the first months of his reign, he may be the indisputable best choice to lead the club forward and build upon the fine start left behind by Alexander.
