How much Michael Duff can spend on Bradford City transfers in January revealed | OneFootball

Michael Duff's transfer budget at Bradford City for the January transfer window has become clearer

As Michael Duff prepares to take charge at Bradford City following Graham Alexander's departure to Preston North End, the budget that the 48-year-old will inherit ahead of the January transfer window has been revealed in a new update.

The Bantams were rocked by Alexander's sudden decision to replace Paul Heckingbottom at former club Preston, having enjoyed a storied playing career at Deepdale before turning to management, but have wasted little time in sourcing a replacement in order to continue their promotion bid out of League One.

A number of names have been linked with the Bradford gig, including Heckingbottom himself alongside the likes of Tom Cleverley, Leam Richardson and Gary Rowett, although various factors have ultimately ensured that Duff will be returning to the dugout with the third-tier promotion chasers after his own dismissal from Wycombe Wanderers last month.

Now, with Duff preparing to get stuck into the role and pick up where Alexander left off ahead of his imminent unveiling at Valley Parade, new reports have disclosed the transfer budget that will be at the Northern Irishman's disposal in the new year.

Michael Duff's Bradford City transfer budget for January revealed

Duff is expected to be announced as Alexander's replacement in West Yorkshire by Tuesday, having agreed on a deal to take over from the ex-Scottish international at Bradford.

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Negotiations between both parties went smoothly, which were only helped by Duff's availability as a free agent following mixed spells at this level with Huddersfield Town and Wycombe.

His time with the Chairboys, however, is particularly notable, with a report from The iPaper revealing that the former Barnsley boss was given little influence over recruitment despite no shortage of financial muscle behind the Buckinghamshire-based outfit.

It will only be to the relief of Duff, then, that it's set to be a different story at Bradford, where he is reportedly poised to have a significant say over both incomings and outgoings and will receive a generous budget once January rolls around if his side remain in promotion contention.

Indeed, the report has added that similar funds to the £500,000 influx that was added to the budget under Alexander last time out to support Bradford's eventual play-off finish will be made available for Duff.

Exactly how impactful that sort of money turns out to be only remains to be seen, of course, and it's not clear just how much work Duff will be looking to do on his squad either.

However, it's an undeniable boost for both Bradford and Duff in the months leading up to the January window, which could be a crucial one for the League One promotion hopefuls.

Bradford City will need a better January transfer window than last season

Bradford made a statement of intent by freeing up funds for Alexander to bolster his squad upon the turn of the year last time out, but while he was able to acquire some strength in depth, the spine of the side itself failed to improve all that much as a number of signings never got going.

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Lee Evans and Kayden Jackson both offered experience by arriving on permanent deals but struggled to have a decisive impact on proceedings, with the latter having scored just three goals from 25 appearances to date.

A series of loans were sought for Harrison Ashby, Paul Mullin, Louie Sibley, Ethan Wheatley and Joe White, though they all came and left without breaking into Alexander's team on a consistent basis and doing anything to influence City's promotion-chasing efforts.

It goes without saying, then, that the Bantams will need to ensure that their budget is spent better in January if they are to go all the way and achieve promotion, with no shortage of competitors also in the mix to go up to the Championship with funds to summon.

Duff has shown a demonstrated ability to source good value for money in the market over the years, though, which should give the Bantams faithful plenty of confidence.

Michael Duff's opening Bradford City fixtures profiled

Interim boss Mark Trueman is expected to remain in charge for Bradford's EFL Trophy trip to Yorkshire rivals Rotherham United, with Saturday afternoon's visit of Leyton Orient representing Duff's dugout debut instead.

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The ex-Swansea City manager can look forward to a generous Valley Parade double-header at home against mid-table opponents in Orient and Stevenage before successive away trips to top-six-aspiring pair Burton Albion and Oxford United.

On paper, though, those are four winnable fixtures for a side positioned in second place, only behind Cleverley's Plymouth Argyle on goal difference and with a game in hand.

Stiffer league tests lie ahead in the weeks to come with three of Duff's old clubs in Huddersfield, Barnsley and Wycombe all on the agenda alongside Leicester City away from home before November is up, and it's perhaps then that we'll see what Bradford are going to be all about under his stewardship.