Bradford City start discussions on January transfer window

Graham Alexander and assistant Chris Lucketti sat down on Tuesday with chief executive Ryan Sparks, head of recruitment Stephen Gent and head of football operations David Sharpe.

“It was just a preliminary one to assess where we are right now and what we potentially might need to do to strengthen in January,” said the Bantams chief.

“It wasn’t about details of individuals but where we felt we needed strengthening. That will be put back for a couple of weeks now until we gather a bit more information.

“The games are the most important thing for me and I never get distracted from what I have to do day in, day out and what the players need from us.

“In football, you can have a diary with loads of set plans and it can be thrown out the window at any moment.

“There are loads of different aspects to cover but it’s not me on my own. I’ve got a lot of support around me with the staff and people above to help us navigate these periods.”

Alexander anticipates a series of discussions as it gets nearer to the mid-season market.

Plenty can change in the busy period fixtures between now and then – and he will hope to have increased playing options with the injured players coming back.

Long-term absentees Antoni Sarcevic, Aden Baldwin and Alex Pattison are all close to a return to training.

Alexander added: “Between now and January, we’ll probably have five or six meetings. There are also a lot of conversations between individuals on the phone.

“It’s continually always there but we’re still in mid-November. We have to assess the players we’ve had missing.

“Are they going to be in a fit-enough state to consistently play for us or is this going to be a continual problem for us?

“We can only probably answer that closer to January.

“It’s fluid but if we’re not communicating along the way, it can come as a surprise to somebody if we suddenly say that we have to do this.

Summer recruit Aden Baldwin is getting back to fitness (Image: Thomas Gadd)

“We’ve had that conversation and it will be put to the back of my mind for the next two weeks.

“I’m sure Genty, Ryan and David will continue to think about what we spoke about.”

The January window is more volatile than the summer because of its condensed nature and the fact that teams are in the middle of their season.

“Players are coming towards the end of their contracts which heightens that feeling.

“Clubs are all in a neutral position in the summer. Everyone is joint top of the league, so to speak.

“By January, it’s all different. Some are ahead of schedule, others are below.

“You have to communicate and have ideas but be ready to act upon anything that might come up.

“You really don’t know what might happen. But as I’ve always said, the target with any window is coming out of it in a better shape.

“Sometimes you don’t know what that will look like until you assess what you’ve done.”