Bradford City midfielder Jenson Metcalfe is reportedly a target for several Championship clubs on deadline day.
Nevertheless, the Bantams are intent on keeping hold of one of their regular starters, with limited time to find a replacement.
Pete O’Rourke is reporting that several second-tier sides are chasing the former Everton man, who only departed the Toffees in the summer.
After penning a three-year deal with the West Yorkshire outfit, it would take a substantial offer this late in the window, and with his length of contract, for any team to sign him.
According to the Football Insider transfer correspondent, the unnamed clubs are expected to continue to monitor him for the rest of the season. A summer move would make sense on the Bantams’ end, as it would give them much more time to find a replacement. But it does also depend on which division Graham Alexander’s side are in, as they battle for promotion to the Championship.
Metcalfe was named in a Guardian article as one of the 20 best talents at Premier League clubs, shortly after signing his first professional contract as a 17-year-old in 2021. The Wigan-born man had to overcome an ACL injury at Everton, but became a regular for their U21’s in the 23/24 campaign. Along with 18 games in Premier League 2 and appearances in all three EFL Trophy matches, the 21-year-old was named on the bench for the senior team on five occasions.
He then got his first taste of professional football last term with Bradford’s fourth-tier rivals Chesterfield, playing 31 times for the Spireites as they made the Play-Offs. But with his pathway to the first team on Merseyside unlikely, Metcalfe opted for a permanent move away from the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
That has been the Bantams’ gain, as he has excelled since making the step-up to League One. He had to initially bide his time in the opening months of the season, as Bradford made a flying start following their own promotion to the third tier. But since returning to the starting line-up at Plymouth Argyle in early December, Metcalfe has played every league minute.
Bradford Keen To Reignite Promotion Ambitions
It wasn’t always pretty on Saturday lunchtime, but Bradford grabbed a valuable three points against Doncaster Rovers. The Bantams had lost four of their five January games before facing their Yorkshire counterparts, as their hopes of successive promotions had taken an almighty blow. But Tyreik Wright stepped up with nine minutes remaining to find the winner.
Forward areas had been of great concern for Alexander this window, with supporters voicing their frustrations at Sincil Bank last Tuesday evening. But the West Yorkshire club duly responded by signing Paul Mullin and Kayden Jackson on Friday, with the latter having a debut goal controversially chalked off the following day.
Even with that win last weekend, the Bantams saw four of the other five sides in the top six emerge victorious, leaving them nine points adrift of second-place Lincoln City. They do, though, have a game in hand on most of the sides around them, and have a seven-point gap to Luton Town in seventh.
But the loss of key personnel like Metcalfe at such a pivotal moment in the window could derail their season. So it’s no surprise to hear the Bantams are desperate to keep hold of him.