STUART McCall is amazed that James Hanson is still leading the line for City.

McCall's second coming as Bantams boss begins tomorrow with the opening pre-season friendly at Guiseley.

While he is busy looking to revamp the squad with up to ten new faces, McCall is ecstatic to have a familiar one still spearheading the attack.

Hanson heads into the next campaign as the third-highest scorer in City history – a long way from when he made the fabled move from Guiseley and his shop job in 2009 for a fee that eventually proved a £7,500 snip.

McCall said: "I'm surprised big James is still here from when I left. But I'm also delighted and the club have done well to keep hold of him.

"He is a much stronger and fitter boy than before. He was raw then but has developed into a real powerhouse.

"I look at his goals in the last few seasons. You put the right delivery in that area and James is as good as anyone in this league at attacking the ball."

Hanson's presence was sorely missed in last season's play-offs when he sat out both games of the semi-final exit to Millwall.

McCall said: "He had a little gash in his calf at the end of last season which became a tear when he tried to play with it. But everything is fine now and he is raring to go."

Polish striker Vincent Rabiega is pencilled in to play at Nethermoor, providing City can get international clearance through in time.

The six-footer, who recently turned 21, is among the players that McCall has been running the rule over during the first full week of pre-season and has shown up well.

Rabiega was born in Berlin but has represented Poland at various age group levels. He has been playing his football in Germany for RB Leipzig II in the north-east regional league of the Bundesliga.

He scored twice in 20 appearances in the German fourth tier last term but only nine of those were starts. In last pre-season, he set up two goals in a friendly against Southampton in Austria.

Rabiega went for a trial in Poland with Korona Kielce shortly before joining up with the Bantams, who like what they have seen so far on the training ground.

City are also expected to field a German goalkeeper tomorrow as they seek a replacement for Ben Williams.

Untried Joe Cracknell is the only keeper currently on the books and City may again look at the prospect of recruiting an experienced pro with a potentially highly-rated youngster on loan.

"We've made inquiries about a couple and are having a look at one or two in training," said McCall.

With Greg Abbott now installed in the chief scouting role, it is understood that John Dreyer has also been assisting his old club for the past three weeks looking at southern-based players, including ones in the Premier League.