BRADFORD Bulls remain cautious over the permanent signing of Jayden Okunbor, despite his current club Hull F.C. announcing that a deal is in place for the Australian winger.

Okunbor has struggled at the Airlie Birds in Betfred Super League this season, but has shone on loan at Bradford over the last few weeks, so a deal is a good move for both parties.

It gives Bulls a try-scoring machine in the Championship, and the security of knowing they are not at the mercy of his parent club recalling him on loan, like they did last weekend.

But it also allows Hull to free up an overseas quota spot as they look to strengthen their squad going forward.

The Super League side announced the following last night:

However, Bulls have not confirmed the news on their social media channels and when the T&A spoke to a club source at Bradford, they told us there was no announcement to be made at this stage on Okunbor.

While a permanent move seems likely to go ahead, Bradford clearly want to ensure that the deal is confirmed, and there are no Visa issues for Okunbor in the next few days or weeks, before making any announcement.

It is perhaps telling that when Bulls have signed other Australians this season, like Tyran Ott, Max Lehmann and Logan Bayliss-Brow, that has always been announced publicly even with the caveat of "subject to international clearance". 

It suggests this deal for Okunbor is a slightly more complex to complete, even though there is no suggestion it will fall through at this stage.

Regardless, he is definitely back at Bulls on loan, and will start this evening's league game against Toulouse in the South of France.