Gary Bowyer has revealed that he is still keen to recruit fresh faces at Bradford City, despite the new season getting underway, as reported by the Telegraph and Argus.

The former Blackpool manager saw his side draw 0-0 on the opening day of the season in a tepid game against Cambridge United.

James Vaughan's acrobatic effort in the first half was as close as they came to scoring and Bowyer knows he has to keep improving his squad if they're to live up to their billing as pre-season promotion contenders.

“It’s something that we’ve got to look at this week and ultimately see if we can do anything or not," he said.

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“You’d certainly like to be able to add one or two fresh faces still. People talk about (the signings) but it is only 10 – and I mean only.

"It’s not even half (the squad). You would want to bring in one or two, possibly that you’ve worked with before. They know what to expect from you and you know what you’d get from them.

“We’ll just keep seeing with that. The phone has been busy, which is to be expected, and there’s a lot of work still going in on that front.”

The Bantams are still waiting to hear if they're set to receive a windfall from Oli McBurnie's transfer from Swansea to Sheffield United, but it's not always money that is a factor in attracting fresh talent.

“There have been situations where there are ones we’ve identified who have not been able to hang on and have moved elsewhere," added Bowyer.

“I don’t have a problem with that because it’s their careers. If the deal is not ready at Bradford City, then they quite rightly have to look after themselves and get a job somewhere else.”

McBurnie recently moved to the Premier League new boys for £20m and as a result, Bradford City should be in for a windfall. They had a 15% sell-on clause inserted in the deal that took him to the Liberty Stadium for £250,000 in 2015.

The Verdict

For those not great at maths, Bradford should get around £2.6m from the McBurnie deal; the initial fee was £17.5m rising depending on clauses.

That's certainly going to help when recruiting players, but time is of the essence. The transfer window shuts on September 2nd and Bowyer knows that fewer quality players will be available the longer the situation drags on. Teams won't want to part with their talent and those that do will know all about their windfall, increasing prices.

That said, the Bantams have a good squad and once they gel they should be a real force. It's all well and good claiming they've 'only' brought in ten new players, but that's a lot of fresh faces to mould into a cohesive unit.

They might have to be patient in the early exchanges as the new-look side settles into a rhythm.