Bradford City closing in on deal to sign Stockport County midfielder | OneFootball

The 31-year-old still has a year left on his deal with the Hatters.

Bradford City are looking likely to snap up the signing of former Manchester United prospect Nick Powell following his imminent exit from Stockport County.

Suspicions that Powell may not be part of Dave Challinor's plans first arose when the midfielder wasn't given a squad number for the current campaign.

His second season at Edgeley Park was a very stop-start one. After joining as a free agent from Stoke City in the summer of 2023, and playing 32 times in his first stint with the Hatters, the 31-year-old only managed seven league appearances, with only three of them coming in the 2025 section of the term.

Bradford City set to complete capture of soon-to-be-released Stockport midfielder

The Stockport boss said at the end of July that the player and the club were working together to find an outcome that would see Powell leave the Hatters this summer, despite him having another year left on his contract.

"It was agreed with all parties, really, that Nick would move on this summer," Challinor said, via BBC Sport Manchester. "So as soon as the season was finished we had that conversation, and I suppose that's where things remain.

"There's not been a resolution to that at present, but all parties are working hard for that to be the case."

That agreement is now getting closer, as per Sam Byrne, with Powell set to break his connections with County sooner rather than later, with his next club being Bradford.

Graham Alexander's side have made a comfortable start to life in League One, and are looking to add to a position of existing strength by bringing in the former Crewe Alexandra play-off final hero.

Bradford will show their backing of Nick Powell with the terms they offer him

Powell has only played in League One for a couple of seasons in his career, with the bulk of his time being spent up a division in the Championship. He'll have to work hard to oust those who are already emerging as Alexander's mainstays in the centre of the park this season, but there's no doubt that the 31-year-old has the talent to do it.

The length of deal that he will sign with Bradford, should everything go to the reported plan, will be interesting to see. Powell was obviously a strong contributor in League Two for Stockport, but struggled to replicate that once they made the move up to the third tier. The Bantams are now in the same division, so will Alexander be the one to unlock his potential in League One?

How many years they offer him will be a big indicator of how much faith the boss and the other key decision-makers at Bradford have in the ex-Man United player. It almost certainly won't be above two years at this stage of his career.