Loan capture Tom Adeyemi can see the similarities between City and his parent club Norwich.
The 18-year-old attacking midfielder is ready to throw himself into Peter Taylor’s promotion plans.
Adeyemi, who made 17 appearances for the Canaries last term, knows the pressure that comes with being seen as one of the big boys in the division.
Norwich were in the same position in League One but emerged as champions. Now the talented teenager wants to help the Bantams follow suit.
He said: “Everything about this club, from the facilities to the manager to the players – none of it belongs in this league.
“But many of the teams see coming to this stadium as their cup final and will be more up for it than any other game. It was like that with Norwich after we went down.
“But there’s no point in playing football if there was no pressure. I like to thrive on that.
“You have to perform every week and if you don’t people have the right to get upset.
“My ultimate ambitions do lie back at Norwich but it’s really good for me to come to a club as big as this. It is probably a bigger club than Norwich in terms of history.
“To play as many games as possible would be ideal for my development. Hopefully I’ll be able to give something back in terms of my performances and the results we get on the pitch.”
Adeyemi made his senior debut in the first game of last season – when Norwich were thrashed 7-1 at home by Colchester. They were already 5-0 down when he came off the bench.
He admitted: “It was quite bizarre but certainly something I’ll never forget. Just to be going on with the crowd already against you was tough. But I think I did quite well and we only lost 2-1 when I was on the pitch!”
He made his first start three days later in the Carling Cup and was regularly involved up until Christmas before slipping out of the picture as new faces arrived.
Norwich have further bolstered their midfield this summer by snapping up Andrew Surman, Andrew Crofts and David Fox as they prepare for life back in the Championship.
With opportunities likely to be even more limited for Adeyemi, boss Paul Lambert was keen to get him loan experience elsewhere.
Taylor, who spotted Adeyemi’s promise when he was playing against Wycombe last season, beat a queue of clubs for his signature.
The City boss said: “He is potentially a very good player who is going to get better. He’s a lovely size and athlete.
“You sign loan players at times to see if you like them and then see if you can get them permanently. We know that Tom is definitely going to go back to Norwich.
“We’re going to try to help his career by playing a lot of football here and hopefully doing very well for this club.
“With the crowd potential here, that’s going to be of more value for the boy when he returns to Norwich.”
Adeyemi has signed until January 12, although City will look to extend it for the season if things work out. He believes his game can develop under Taylor’s tuition.
“One of the main attractions of Bradford for me was the manager because he’s got a great history of working with younger players,” said Adeyemi.
“I’ve got aspirations for the future and hopefully he can help me along with that journey.”
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