Bradford increase their offer for striker Benson

As exclusively revealed in yesterday’s Yorkshire Post, the Bantams are facing competition for the 32-year-old from one of their main rivals in the fight to avoid relegation from the Football League.

City had hoped to have secured their first six-figure signing in more than a decade by now after last week submitting a £100,000 bid that would have seen the striker join on loan before becoming a permanent signing in January.

Interest from Dagenham & Redbridge over the weekend scuppered those plans, however, and led to Bradford making a new offer in an attempt to capture Benson, who manager Phil Parkinson believes can lead City out of trouble.

Should Bradford clinch a deal for the forward it will be the first time the club have splashed out a six-figure fee since before they went into administration in 2002.

Fees have been paid in recent years for the likes of Gareth Evans, Jake Speight and Willy Top but they were small compared to the increased offer that has now been offered.

The Benson deal apart, Bradford are not expected to be involved in any transfer activity before tomorrow’s loan deadline. Instead, it is January when a host of decisions will have to be made due to the loans of Jamie Devitt, Andrew Davies, Marcel Seip, Jack Compton and Michael Bryan being due to expire early in the New Year.

Huddersfield Town, like Hull City in the Championship, are not expected to make any loan signings even though Alan Lee failed yesterday in his bid to overturn his red card against Notts County. He must now sit out the trips to Charlton and Sheffield Wednesday plus the home game against Bournemouth.