Mark Lawn today confirmed that the wallet is still open for City to hire a hitman in next month’s transfer window.

And the £27,000 FA Cup prize money up for grabs on Saturday will also be thrown in if Phil Parkinson needs it.

The co-chairman stressed the importance of landing an established striker after the Paul Benson pursuit collapsed at the 11th hour.

Lawn and Professor David Rhodes, Julian’s father, had funded the move for Benson and cash remains on the table for Parkinson to spend in the January sales.

“It’s extra money we’ve put in above and beyond the budget but it’s something we’re willing to do if we can get the right person,” said Lawn.

“The FA Cup is also a chance to get some money that we’ll probably spend in January.

“We still need to improve the squad. There’s nobody watching Bradford City who doesn’t realise we would be better with a striker who could score 20 goals a season.

“I think Phil is looking at two or three but I’d like to have someone who’s a little bit proven for what we have offered. I don’t think we need anybody who hasn’t got a track record.”

City had made a six-figure bid for Charlton’s Benson, thought to be around £130,000, and other clubs will be alerted that they have money to hand.

But Lawn warned: “We certainly wouldn’t be going any more than that. Just because we’ve made that sort of bid doesn’t mean we’d offer that amount again.

“It was because he was a really good striker and I don’t think there’s another one like that around. That’s why it is difficult to shop for them.”

Charlton were unhappy that City tried to restructure the deal before pulling the plug so late. The League One leaders then attempted to loan Benson to Swindon but missed the deadline by seven minutes.

But Lawn insisted the club were only following specialist Steve Bollen’s concerns during Benson’s medical and not trying to pull a fast one to get a cheaper deal.

He said: “We’re all gutted we couldn’t get him but you’ve got to take medical advice. Our advice came from one of the top knee surgeons in the country.

“We’d been working on the deal for ten days, then it fell down right at the back end.

“I think Charlton thought we’d done it on purpose but we were quite willing to send them medical reports. There was no brinkmanship on our part.

“They hadn’t done a medical on him for two years. Anybody who’s going to sign him is going to have that done and we expected it to sail through.

“We’d still have done a deal but at the right price. We weren’t trying to pull the wool over their eyes.

“I want Charlton to know that because we need a good working relationship together. Who knows, we might still be revisiting it in January.”

In the meantime, Lawn has echoed Parkinson’s call for the strikers currently on City’s books to prove their worth before the transfer market reopens.

He said: “The lads here have to show what they can do. The likes of Fagan, Hanson, Hannah and Stewart have to take their opportunity now.

“If one of them can bang some goals in, they can turn round and say ‘I’m staying’. That’s what they’ve got to prove.”