Every transfer involves huge risks. This is a phrase which has become as familiar a part of football speak as 'taking one game at a time' and 'You have to take your chances at this level'.

And it will no doubt be trotted out again when Bradford City make their first plunge into the transfer market of the 21st century.

Strikers Stan Collymore and Jorge Cadete have emerged as the main targets as Paul Jewell looks to improve the worst goalscoring record in the Premiership.

City's ill-fated move for Frenchman Bruno Rodriguez has left some fans apprehensive about the foreign transfer market. Rodriguez did not fit in at Valley Parade but the big benefit with Cadete is that he has played in Britain before and was a huge success at Celtic.

When trying to get some background information on the Benfica striker this week I canvassed the opinions of several Glasgow sportswriters and they all said he would be a superb signing for City.

The Bantams' move for Collymore has understandably attracted the biggest headlines bearing in mind his colourful past.

The former England striker's career has been well documented with his moves to Nottingham Forest, Liverpool and Aston Villa all turning sour.

Collymore is undeniably one of the most talented players to emerge in English football over the last 20 years. I first saw him play for Nottingham Forest at Millwall when both sides were chasing promotion in 1994 and he was the star of the show in a 2-2 draw.

The 29-year-old looks to have no future at Villa Park with boss John Gregory hardly proving sympathetic when dealing with the player's bout of depression last year.

Common opinion suggested Collymore could not possibly be suffering from depression because of the huge amount of money he was earning. That was utter nonsense.

The fact Collymore was suffering from an illness seemed to be ignored as everyone lined up to criticise the Villa star.

But the striker has been receiving treatment for the past 12 months, and in a revealing interview in The Observer just two weeks ago it was suggested he was coming to terms with his problems.

Since City's interest was revealed at the weekend, the likes of former Leeds ace John Giles have suggested that no club should go anywhere near Collymore.

Much has also been made of City's team spirit and the huge partit has to play in their bid for survival.

It has been suggested that Collymore's rumoured £20,000-plus wages would cause a rift in a dressing room where the top wage is believed to be between £8,000 and £10,000 per week.

But if you want the best then you have to pay for it and if City are to stay in the Premiership then they must bolster their squad.

City have an admirable work ethic and surely a player who is desperate to prove people wrong can only be an asset.

And if Collymore does sign and goes on to score eight or nine goals to keep City up, then surely there can be no jealousy aimed at him because he will have played a huge part in keeping City in the Premiership which is what everyone - players, fans and club officials - wants.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.