Parkinson lauds Mclean’s arrival ahead of derby

The 30-year-old has signed a two-and-a-half year deal at Valley Parade after calling time on his three-year stint at Hull City.

Mclean, a former Golden Boot winner in League Two from his days with Peterborough United, had been interesting a number of clubs, but Parkinson persuaded the striker his future lies with the Bantams.

The Bradford manager said: “It is great to get Aaron on board. He brings exactly what we need to the squad and we are excited to have him here.

“Aaron was interesting a lot of clubs so it took a bit of persuading to get him to Bradford. I always take that as a good sign, as it means they want to go to a club that is going to be good for their career. Aaron knows Bradford can be good for him, just as he can be good for us.

“As a striker, I felt Aaron ticked all the boxes for us.

“I wanted to bring him in before Nahki (Wells) left for Huddersfield. We had been keeping tabs on Aaron for a while and with Nahki always likely to leave in January, we wanted to move as quick as we could.

“We are delighted to have him here ahead of a big Yorkshire derby.

“He will bring a lot of experience and I can see he is hungry to do well for Bradford City.”

Mclean is a straight replacement for Wells, whose move to the John Smith’s Stadium broke up what had been a fruitful partnership with James Hanson.

The former Hull striker is likely to be thrown straight in against Sheffield United tomorrow at Bramall Lane as Bradford look to improve a woeful record of just one win in 15 league outings.

Parkinson said: “Aaron looks fresh and fit. He has been away on loan at Birmingham City, while he scored for Hull in the FA Cup (win over Middlesbrough) a couple of Saturdays ago.

“We will have no concerns over starting Aaron in what is sure to be a big game. He is fully up to speed and determined to do well.”

Mclean’s playing time for Hull this season in the Premier League amounts to just six minutes. However, he did play seven times for Birmingham before starting the Tigers’ FA Cup win at the Riverside, during which he netted his first goal of the season.

Parkinson said: “Aaron has a good record at this level and I am sure our supporters are looking forward to seeing him in action.

“I am sure he will be a great signing for us.”

Ricky Ravenhill is unlikely to feature tomorrow at Bramall Lane due to damaging his ankle ligaments in the draw with Bristol City.