Bradford City’s promotion rivals sign former Watford, Crystal Palace and Reading man on a free transfer

Bradford City’s promotion rivals Salford City have snapped up defender Adrian Mariappa on a free transfer. The experienced centre-back has put pen-to-paper on a deal until the end of the season with the North West club.

The Ammies are currently eyeing a place in the play-offs in League Two. They are inside the top seven by two points above Mansfield Town and are two points behind the Bantams.

Mariappa, 36, has been a free agent since leaving League One side Burton Albion earlier this year and he has since been weighing up his options. The veteran has racked up over 500 appearances in his career to date and will be looking to help his new club in their quest for third tier football.

He started out at Watford and has since had two more spells with the Hornets over the course of the past 15 years and has also had stints at Crystal Palace, Reading and Bristol City. The Jamaica international moved to Australia in 2021 to join A-League outfit Macarthur FC and played 19 times during his stint down under before heading back home.

Mariappa is in line to make his debut for Salford this weekend against Stevenage. Neil Wood’s side beat Doncaster Rovers 3-1 last time out.