By Nic Barnes
Bradford City have confirmed they have accepted a bid for their all-time 3rd highest goal scorer James Hanson.
The Bradford born target man was left out of the side that drew 1-1 at the weekend with Millwall after receiving a bid from their divisional, regional, and promotion rivals Sheffield United.
This move comes as a surprise as Bantams boss Stuart McCall told The Yorkshire Post; ”I got a call earlier this week for James Hanson from a Championship club. We then got the bid from Sheffield United. The bid has not been accepted yet. There are discussions to be made and I don’t expect the bid to be accepted. We have offered him a deal.”
Hanson’s contract with Bradford was set to run out in the summer but a bid reported to be around £150K has been accepted and the striker has had a medical.
The deal will be a major blow to Bradford City’s promotion push and will be sure to leave a bitter taste in the mouths of their supporters, with their fan favourite striker joining top of the league Sheffield United.
Blades boss Chris Wilder told Sheffield United’s YouTube channel; “I think if you asked a lot of the managers in this league, who’s up there? (As the best in his position) He’d come into everyone’s thoughts, and he’s come into our thoughts as well”.
James Hanson should be available for Sheffield United’s game against Fleetwood Town on Tuesday.
Another Yorkshire based side, Guiseley are set for a cash windfall as they included a 25% sell on clause as part of the deal that saw Hanson move from Guiseley to Bradford back in 2009 which handed Hanson his first professional contract.
The initial 7.5k fee + 25 percent of the reported 150k, would see Guiseley eventually get 45k from the James Hanson deal #gafc #bcafc
— Thomas Feaheny (@ThomasFeaheny) January 23, 2017