GOOD BYE: Bradford City look to part ways with Mark Hughes recruit after series of contract negotiations

Bradford City have had some great strikers over the years, and players in attack have often become fan favourites. Nahki Wells, James Hanson, Dean Windass, and, in more modern times, Andy Cook have graced the pitch at Valley Parade and given the supporters lots to cheer about.

However, for every striker who is loved by the fans, there are hundreds more who have failed to have any real impact on the club for various reasons. Ability, form, fitness and club are usually the reasons why, with the latter being the reason why some players perform well at one club but fail at another.

When Vadaine Oliver joined the club in the summer of 2022, big things were expected of the striker after he had previously shown his goalscoring ability at previous clubs like Gillingham FC and York City. The club was looking to add some height to the attack to take some of the dirty work from Andy Cook and to be a direct replacement should he be unavailable.

Things haven’t really gone to plan for Oliver at the club, with injuries plaguing the striker for the most part and it’s probably the best for all parties if the striker looks for a new start with a new club.

Vadaine Oliver’s struggles at Bradford City

As mentioned, Oliver has struggled with injuries since joining the club and has spent a lot of time on the sidelines, being unavailable for match selection, which has seen the player feature less than fans would have liked.

During his first season at the club, Oliver had to have a knee operation, which saw him miss the back end of the season. He then had groin surgery during the previous summer, which ruled him out for several months.

However, when the striker has been fit, performances haven’t been anything to write home about. To be fair to Oliver, many of his appearances have been from the bench due to Andy Cook being the club’s main striker for the past number of seasons, with Oliver often playing second fiddle when fit.

Vadaine Oliver’s future lies away from Valley Parade

Oliver still has a chance at Bradford, with manager Graham Alexander possibly using him as a backup to Andy Cook. However, that is somewhat unlikely after the striker is believed to have not met with the manager and his teammates to discuss their futures at the club.

After starting only one game for the Bantams during the 2023-24 season, making a total of six league appearances, Oliver surprisingly went out on loan in January to the league above, joining Stevenage for the remainder of the season.

While at Stevenage, the only real contribution in terms of stats is a solitary assist to his name on his first game against Wigan Athletic in a 3-2 win. The striker played 14 times for the club, making seven starts and seven substitute appearances before failing to feature in the season’s last four games.

It seems unlikely that Stevenage will be interested in signing the striker permanently, but a number of clubs in the EFL League Two could benefit from signing Oliver should he rediscover the goalscoring form he showed at former clubs. His presence alone can carve open chances.

With his time at Bradford likely up despite being under contract, it’s interesting to see what the future looks like for the striker, who will surely be at a new club come the start of the 2024-25 season.