"I'd be lying" - Max Power drops major admission over Bradford City transfer | OneFootball

The midfielder agreed to join the Bantams following their automatic rise up to the third tier.

Bradford City's first summer signing, Max Power, has admitted that he may not have joined the club had they not been promoted to League One last season.

In terms of ways to go up, Bradford experienced what many would argue is one of the best ways.

After years spent at the lowest level of the EFL, they finally had a really strong opportunity to right their wrongs and get back to the third tier.

It looked like it was slipping away from them on the final day as they fought to turn a draw against Fleetwood Town into a win. Then the 97th minute of the game came and they finally got their breakthrough.

The 20,000+ supporters in attendance at Valley Parade lost their minds, stormed the pitch and celebrated the promotion in the days to come.

They didn't care about whether it went in off the boot of Antoni Sarcevic or not. All that mattered was that they'd finally got out of League Two.

As it turns out, their first acquisition of the summer cared too.

Bradford could have missed out on Max Power without promotion

Speaking to the Telegraph & Argus, Power, who has signed a two-year deal with Bradford after leaving Danish club AGF, said that he wouldn't have been that keen on linking up with Graham Alexander had they remained in the fourth tier.

"There had been conversations before the end of the season, and obviously clubs became aware I’d be leaving Denmark. It was well known I wanted to come back to England, but nothing was agreed with Bradford until after their final game.

"I’d be lying if I said I wanted to come back and play in League Two. That was never the case, so the fact the club got promoted certainly helped things.

"It wasn’t a tough sell from the club, I knew what they were about, and I had a great conversation with the manager. I’ve always been a distant admirer of his. Anyone who plays over 1,000 games in their career is incredible. I had great times with David Sharpe at Wigan too, where we celebrated two promotions together, so those relationships were there already.

"Within five minutes of sitting down with Graham (Alexander), it felt like we were on the same page over everything, in terms of our beliefs and morals, as well as what we wanted to achieve at the club.

"Although like with most clubs, you have those conversations between players and agents before the end of the season, it wasn’t until I finally got back from Denmark that things accelerated, after the promotion."

Bradford City are not in League One just to take part - Max Power has third tier promotion pedigree

The 31-year-old midfielder will bring a lot of experience to Alexander's squad, something they will need following the release of club captain Richie Smallwood.

Adding the Birkenhead-born midfielder right off the bat stamped down the Bantams' intent to be a real force in the third tier. This would become even clearer if they were to sign Ibou Touray following his release from Stockport County, which they are expected to do, according to reports.

After so long languishing in League Two, it only feels right that Bradford have made a bit of a splash after their first promotion in a dozen years.

Power knows exactly what it takes to win promotion from League One too, having done so three times during his Wigan Athletic career.

As such, whilst he may not have had the most successful time in Saudi Arabia and Denmark respectively, his experience of League One and the EFL as a whole, could prove to be an invaluable addition to the Bantams' dressing room.