Elliott Whitehead could have played his last game for the Bulls after stunning his home-town club with a shock transfer request.

The Bradford-born second-rower told coach Francis Cummins that he did not feel the club were making the progress he had anticipated and wished to join a top-four side.

Cummins has subsequently accepted Whitehead’s request and placed him on indefinite leave until a sale can be agreed.

He will play no part in Sunday’s trip to St Helens and will not now train with his team-mates either.

The Bulls will demand a fee for a player who agreed a long-term deal last year and is under contract until the end of 2016.

Whitehead, who made his Super League debut in 2009, is valued by the Bulls in excess of £100,000.

Andy Clarke, Whitehead’s agent, is currently seeking to engineer the 23-year-old a move away from the Provident Stadium.

Catalan Dragons are understood to have shown an interest but are not willing to pay a fee for his services.

Yet Salford, coached by former Bradford boss Brian Noble and backed by the wealth of multi-millionaire owner Marwan Koukash, are especially keen.

Whitehead, however, is not believed to be attracted by a move to the struggling City Reds and has set his sights on moving to one of the leading contenders such as Leeds, Wigan and Warrington.

But with those clubs understood to be already spending up to the salary cap, Whitehead could effectively be left in limbo for the remainder of the campaign unless his agent can find him a move.

Cummins does not want a player in his squad who does not want to play for the Bulls and his stance is supported by owner Omar Khan.

Khan has stated that money raised by the sale of Whitehead will be ploughed straight back into strengthening the squad.

Whitehead and his agent were unavailable for comment last night but Cummins revealed the timeline in events which led to one of his best young forward's time appearing to be up.

The Bulls coach said: “Andy Clarke rang me last Friday and told me that Elliott wanted to leave because he didn’t feel the progress of the club was what it should be and that he wanted to test himself at a top-four club.

“I kept it professional and decided he would play at Hull KR last Sunday and I then sat down with Elliott first thing on Monday morning.

“Elliott again reiterated what his agent had said about us not making the progress he had anticipated and wanting to test himself at a top-four club.

“I asked Elliott ‘is there anything else I or the club could have done better?’ He answered ‘no’ and is now on leave until the situation is resolved.

“I can’t have players in my squad who don’t want to be here. I rang Elliott on Tuesday night to tell him he’s on leave until the situation can be resolved.”

Cummins spoke to his squad yesterday morning about Whitehead’s decision – which stunned many of his team-mates – and said he only wanted players who were fully committed to the club.

Whitehead has previously been included in the England Knights squad but missed out on selection at the end of 2011 after incurring a five-match ban for biting.

It would appear his association with Bradford is now drawing to a close.