23-year-old Callum Cooke has been released by League One side Peterborough and finds himself a free agent. He spent last season on loan at League Two side Bradford City. There ‘s been some buzz about Bradford City going in for him and this is addressed by Bantam’s boss Stuart McCall in conversation with the Telegraph and Argus.
Cooke came up through the ranks at Teessiders Middlesbrough, initially gaining football experience out on loan at Crewe Alexandra (18 games/4 goals/six assists) and Blackpool (32 games/2 goals/4 assists). He was bought by Peterborough for an undisclosed fee at the end of July 2018.
He went on to make 20 appearances (1 goal/1 assist) for the Posh in his only season at the club before his loan this season at Valley Parade. He featured in 27 league and cup games for the Bantams, providing 1 assist in the 1-1 draw at home to Grimsby.
There’s been a lot of noise about whether the Bantams will be in for Cooke. This is something that he addresses in his words to the Telegraph and Argus, saying there has been no contact between the two parties. When asked about the issue, McCall replied:
“I cannot make offers to players at the minute because we just don’t know when we’ll come back and how it’s going to look financially when we do.“
He continued this vein of reply by stressing the need for an honest approach as football and the transfer market readjust to these strangest of times. He added:
“The agents I’ve spoken to would rather me be honest than offer them £800 or something. There will be a lot of players who are desperate. I think it’s pretty plain that contracts won’t be on what they were before at the lower end.”
Whilst the Bantams boss didn’t necessarily dismiss interest in free agent Cooke, it does rest on how Bradford City will come out of the other side of the coronavirus pandemic in terms of finances.
