Young Bradford City trio all handed professional deals by League Two club

The three academy graduates, all 18, have put pen to paper on initial one-year contracts which will keep them at the club next season.

Striker Ibbitson enjoyed an outstanding 2023-24 campaign, scoring 31 times in all competitions for the club’s under-19s side and winning the Neil Matthews Academy Player of the Year award at City’s end-of-season dinner.

Goalkeeper Hadi was City’s third-choice goalkeeper behind Sam Walker and Colin Doyle throughout the second half of last season, while Heath Richardson was out on loan.

Midfielder Wadsworth was offered professional terms last summer. He is the younger brother of Noah, who also featured regularly in City’s matchday squads towards the end of the campaign, making his debut in the Yorkshire derby against Harrogate Town on March 23.

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City head of academy Mark Litherland added: “All three players have shown really good potential this season, and we are looking forward to seeing their development continue.

"This is a big jump, so it is important for us to plan their pathway for the future and ensure when the first team call on them, they are ready and the supporters can see them wearing our shirt.

"The pathway is a huge selling point for our academy in terms of recruitment. If you can see players coming through our academy and playing for the first team, that is really encouraging - from under-eight level right the way up to the professional development phase.

"This is the outcome of the process; seeing lads in the first team doing well. We just want to see them continue to progress and develop.”