Abbott: Bantams are playing wild cards with transfers

But Valley Parade’s quiet revolution is beginning to gather pace.

Last week’s low-key announcement about three fresh-faced additions to the squad was the latest example of the long-term vision of owners Edin Rahic and Stefan Rupp.

Signings under the Germans have fallen into two categories so far: the here and now of Romain Vincelot, Charlie Wyke and Alex Jones and those for the future.

Omari Patrick, Callum Gunner and Tyrell Robinson, just like Dan Pybus and Jacob Hanson, all represent low-risk acquisitions with the possibility to nurture into something.

Unlock that potential and they become City players for the years ahead – with the opportunity to sell on for profit.

Yet if they don’t work out, it has hardly broken the bank or split the dressing room trying.

Head of recruitment Greg Abbott, tasked with discovering these hidden gems, says it is a deliberate ploy to step away from the loan market.

Abbott remains a fierce critic of the system since the changes came in to stop short-term ‘emergency’ fillers.

By insisting players must join clubs from one transfer window to the next, he feels it runs the risk of leaving youngsters on the shelf.

In City’s case, Kevin Toner and Matt Penney were both brought in as security at the end of January. Toner has started twice, while Penney got a brief appearance as substitute in the dead rubber at Rochdale.

Abbott said: “Whoever put the loan system together, saying they have to do six months, came up with a terrible idea.

“These young kids who come in might actually find League One too difficult for them because of the intensity and the quality is that good.

“They end up spending too long at a club where they aren’t getting any football. They might as well be back at their parent one. It doesn’t make any sense.

“If we’re developing a player that gets in our team, we want to reap the benefits if he gets sold to another club.

“We don’t want to hand that over to someone else. We don’t want to do anyone else’s work. That’s why we’ve got to be brave and look for these young players.

“Where they are at on the financial level, it’s worth taking chances.

“We’re going to help them as best we can, change one or two things at the club and give these lads every opportunity of proving that it’s a better way than looking at the loan system.”

Abbott can speak from personal experience when it comes to judging young players who have been rejected elsewhere. Like the latest batch of recruits, he was released by a higher-division club when he first joined City.

Let go by Coventry alongside John Hendrie and Martin Singleton, he went on to forge a fine career. He can understand that added incentive to prove people wrong.

He said: “Sometimes these kids miss their way. It’s not always because they are not good enough.

“It might be because at that level it’s just too much and the quality of the players being brought into the Premier League now makes it really difficult for local lads to come through.

“But some of those lads will go on to carve out fantastic careers and we’re hoping we can get one or two of them.

“It’s a business decision where you don’t have to pay massive amounts of money all the time. We can’t keep doing that.

“Charlie cost money for immediate impact. These lads have cost nothing and minimal fees and hopefully will turn into something.

“They’ve had one knock-back and are now determined to prove they can be at least League One/Championship players.”

City boss Stuart McCall has bought into the thinking being championed by Rahic and Abbott. Youth, athleticism and pace are high on the agenda – but so is good old-fashioned character.

Abbott said: “Look at the manager and the chairman and replicate what type of people they are and replicate those characters. I think we’ve done that really well this season.

“But we’re thinking outside the box a little bit, which is always good.

“We’re not going down the typical route with this, that and the other like everyone else. We’re going to see if we can hunt out one or two surprise, wild-card packages.”