Bradford City look ready to deal Stevenage transfer blow: View | OneFootball

Bradford City striker Jake Young is a target for Stevenage but his recent Carabao Cup feature could hint towards his future.

Jake Young has faced a lot of speculation regarding his future at Bradford City following his successful loan spell at Swindon Town for the first half of last season, which saw the striker bag 16 goals in 26 games for the Robins.

Since returning to the Bantams from that loan spell in January, Young unfortunately only managed five games for the club due to injury, with only one of those games being a full 90 minutes. So, the Bradford supporters are yet to see the best of Young in claret and amber.

Journalist Alan Nixon has linked Young with Sky Bet League One side Stevenage while the Bantams have brought in striker Olly Sanderson from Fulham on loan, which supporters believed could be a replacement for Young. However, the former Barrow and Forest Green attacker is still at the club.

Although there is still time for the attacker to leave the club, manager Graham Alexander's recent choices may hint that Young's future could be at Bradford, which Stevenage supporters will likely not want to hear.

Olly Sanderson signing was thought to be Jake Young replacement

When Bradford City announced the loan signing of Sanderson from Premier League Fulham, the young striker was expected to replace Young, who it was anticipated would leave the club.

The 20-year-old striker, who can also operate in multiple attacking positions, has Sky Bet League Two experience, having featured for Sutton United on loan during the second half of last season, where he contributed four goals in 20 league appearances for the club, showing his ability to hold his own in men’s football.

Sanderson’s best spell, outside of his goalscoring record for the various Fulham youth age groups, was while on loan at Oxford City. He featured for the club over two seasons in the National League South and the National League, contributing 13 goals in 29 appearances.

However, the Fulham loanee's arrival doesn’t mean it’s the end for Young at Bradford City. Vadaine Oliver, despite playing in the club's opening two fixtures, is likely to leave as the striker is mainly a backup to Andy Cook. Also, Tyler Smith is still at the club despite not featuring for the Bantams yet this season.

Young could still be in the plans of Alexander, as their midweek game showed, so the signing of Sanderson doesn’t necessarily mean that he will be sold this transfer window.

Jake Young could stay with the Bantams following Carabao Cup tie

Even though both Bradford City and Stevenage will not be in the Carabao Cup second round, had Stevenage got the better of Championship side Norwich City, then Young would have been unable to play in that fixture had he made the move as the striker played 24 minutes for the Bantams in the loss to Grimsby Town.

Surely, if Young were on the verge of leaving the club, then Alexander wouldn’t have risked the player in the Carabao Cup first round, as an injury could have potentially hindered any transfer while the player would have also been cup-tied.

With striker Calum Kavanagh struggling to make his mark on the team in the first two fixtures of the season, Young could capitalise on this. His cameo appearance in the cup allowed him to showcase what he can bring to the side and the striker could be in the running to start in the next game in the league against Salford City.

The midweek cameo suggests that Young is still in Alexander's plans this season and his performance in the Carabao Cup, including making some good runs forward, linking up well with Andy Cook, and creating a couple of openings in the opposition's box, will likely see him get a chance in the starting line-up moving forward.

Ultimately, the cash in on Young would by no means be the end of the world but the developments of the last week suggest that the Bantams are set to keep the Stevenage target, in a blow to the League One club.