'The right step' - Corey O'Keeffe on swapping Barnsley FC for Bradford City
WHEN Corey O'Keeffe heard that Bradford City were interested in him late on in the summer window, the message to his agent was plain and simple.
Please don't let it go.
Ultimately, it was a case of 'all's well that ends well' for the former Barnsley player, who was due to face his old club today in a quick-fire reunion - only for the scheduled Yorkshire derby at Valley Parade to be postponed earlier this month due to international call-ups on the Reds' side.
However, things became tense for O'Keeffe as the days - and then the hours - ticked down toward the 11 pm deadline on September 1.
Just as supporters of clubs get anxious regarding a perceived lack of activity ahead of deadline day, so do those in the middle of it. Especially when that particular day also happened to be a game-day with City taking on Cambridge United in a League One fixture.
O'Keeffe might have had a watching brief instead of being on the pitch. But that was just fine.
He said: "At the start of the window, there were little whispers about teams here and there.
"And then as soon as the Bradford one came up, I thought, 'Please don't let it go'.
"I said (to my agent), 'Get on the phone to them and just don't let it go'. And then it was about a week and a half before the deadline day and then it was getting close to the deadline.
"I was thinking, 'Please let it happen,' and it has and I'm delighted.
"I've always looked and thought it' (Bradford) is a massive club. Everyone knows that and they're on a journey now and it's going in the right direction.
"When I signed against Cambridge, I was in the crowd and just looking around (the stadium), it was massive. I was up in the sky (in the main stand) and I thought, 'I've never been this high'!"
At this stage of his career and given his situation at Barnsley, you sense that the Midlander would have walked the 30 miles to Bradford to finalise the deal if he had to.
After a difficult past 18 months with the Oakwell outfit, O'Keeffe, who turned 28 in June, was ready for a fresh start.
Farmed out on loan to Stockport County ahead of last season, O'Keeffe returned early to Barnsley, who originally signed him from Forest Green in the summer of 2023.
He featured a fair few times in the second half of 2025-26, but it remained a transitional and testing time for the Reds, with the club subsequently announcing a parting of ways with head coach Conor Hourihane in the spring.
Brought in to build a young squad, a summer revamp was expected, with O'Keeffe finding himself down the pecking order as he headed into the final year of his contract.
The move to West Yorkshire provides an opportunity to kick-start his career again, hopefully in his peak years.
O'Keeffe, who has signed a two-year contract and links up with ex-Reds team-mates Adam Phillips and Stephen Humphrys, added: "I think coming to Bradford, I can really kick on now.
"I'm coming to my peak and really want to push on and show everyone what I can do.
"It has been stop-start (at Barnsley). I feel like I haven't really got going there in the last couple of years.
"And then when I did get a couple of games and felt good, I wouldn't play and then I'd be back in and back out. But I think this was definitely the right step for me and I'm really excited for this chapter."
While Daniel Stendel advocates high-pressing football at his former club Barnsley, the intense approach of his new manager, Graham Alexander is somewhat different and more tactically nuanced in O'Keeffe's eyes.
The Birmingham-born player, who started his career at St Andrew's, is enjoying the style change and believes that it best suits his attributes as well.
O'Keeffe, who made his debut in the Carabao Cup win at Leyton Orient on September 8, said: "It does feel a lot different. Obviously, the press is still a massive thing here, getting in the opponents' faces, which I enjoy doing.
"There are so many different roles and responsibilities here. It feels different. I'm learning and it's really good.
"The gaffer told me a few bits before the Orient game that I haven't really done before, even though I've been playing wing-back for years now. But I enjoy it.
"There's a lot of emphasis on the attacking side of the game, staying high and wide, which ultimately is the best part of my game.
"I've been a full-back/wing-back for maybe seven, eight or nine years and I'm always learning. There are four or five new things now that have come in since I've been here."