COMMENT: The Bantams loan players who were the real deal at Valley Parade

The club remain cautiously confident that they will get their man back.

Coventry and two Championship clubs are sniffing around for the West Ham youngster and the Sky Blues are believed to be offering a higher deal.

But a return to Valley Parade seems the most likely destination now the central defender is ready to resume full training after his wrist injury.

Burke has made it clear he has enjoyed his first half of the season in West Yorkshire – City have certainly benefited from his obvious class and coolness at the heart of the back four.

The general eagerness to welcome him back got me thinking about the legions of loans I have seen come and go during my time covering Bradford City.

It has been a real cast of the good, the bad and the ugly – some very successful like Burke; others … well best not to dwell on the likes of Harpal Singh, Carlos Logan, TJ Moncur and Zema Abbey.

As I approach my 800th league and cup game reporting on the Bantams, here’s my purely subjective selection for the best loan XI at Valley Parade since 2000.

Feel free to dispute the choices which are based purely on their impact – however short – in City colours.

Here is my temporary team of the century.

GOALKEEPER: JORDAN PICKFORD – The young Sunderland stopper had a dodgy start against Coventry but grew more commanding and confident as last season went on. He combined a missile of a kick with great shot-stopping agility. He also ironed out the early weaknesses against crosses.

BACK FOUR: NATHAN DOYLE – He may have partnered Gary Jones in centre midfield during City’s promotion but Doyle was a right back when Colin Todd brought him in from Derby in 2006. He was a strong-tackling regular during a first half of the season that promised great things – but his recall in December coincided with the slide towards relegation to the bottom tier.

REECE BURKE – With every finger crossed, we wait for confirmation from West Ham of his next move. Burke arrived with a clean sheet at Barnsley that steadied a wobbly ship and he looks a class above this level – though hopefully he won’t be stepping up until next season.

JOHN EGAN – The Irishman’s double leg break against Plymouth was a frightening moment for everyone and robbed him of a year of football. But prior to that, he had cut a dominant figure from Sunderland and looked a real prospect as he is now showing with Gillingham.

ANDREW TAYLOR – Another Todd talent, Taylor was brought in from Middlesbrough in 2005 and gave some cultured performances at left back. He did so well that Steve McClaren took him back early and Taylor finished the season playing in an FA Cup semi-final.

MIDFIELD: MATT ETHERINGTON – Unfortunately his surname would become more synonymous in Valley Parade circles for his dad Peter’s “Walter Mitty” spell on the club board. But the winger was easily the most influential loan recruit that Jim Jefferies made. Borrowed from Glenn Hoddle’s Spurs for two months, he supplied pace, flair and width during one of those spells before the wheels came off.

LEE EVANS – Phil Parkinson signed the Welshman at the same time as Burke and he has made just as big an impression. Powerful on the ball and keen to make a positive pass, he has established himself as a mainstay of City’s engine room and he’s here until May.

RONNIE WALLWORK – Bryan Robson may have airbrushed his spell in the City hot-seat off his CV but he acquired a few gems before administration kicked the chair away. Wallwork, an old Manchester United team-mate, was one of them and scored four goals in six outings before the financial shenanigans forced him to go.

ADAM REACH – The Middlesbrough wideman played 18 straight games during the second half of the 2014 season and had a touch of the Chris Waddle about his running style. He signed off with a flourish at Valley Parade by scoring a stunning free-kick winner against Peterborough.

ATTACK: DELE ADEBOLA – The well-travelled frontman made his mark to such an extent that he was mistakenly made the cover boy on a City calendar wearing a Hull shirt! But Adebola’s guile and experience was vital in 2004 when Todd partnered him with Dean Windass. He scored four and was an influential part in a five-match winning run.

JON STEAD – He didn’t pull up many trees in the final months of the 2013-14 campaign but Stead was a key figure in last season’s FA Cup heroics. His cracker began to turn the tide at Chelsea and he satisfyingly answered the Sunderland critics by scoring in the fifth round to finish the competition’s joint top scorer on five.

So that’s the starting line-up sorted. What about the bench?

Winger Lee Holmes, like Doyle, made a very positive impression in the first half of the relegation season of 2006-07. It all went wrong after his departure.

Dean Furman was a bundle of energy in City’s midfield during a season-long loan from Rangers under Stuart McCall.

Michael Proctor made a short and sweet impact for Nicky Law’s team. He scored a late winner at Ipswich and then, famously, a stoppage-time equaliser against Burnley when City were down to nine men.

Peter Jackson’s spell as permanent City boss was a difficult one and lasted only four league games. The quality of his summer recruitment was heavily criticised but right back Liam Moore was an honourable exception with some mature displays from the then-teenager.

Robbie Threlfall did not have the best of times at Valley Parade. But the early signs when he first arrived on loan were very promising with a spectacular debut goal at Rochdale.

Striker Neil Roberts had a “blink and you miss it” stay as one of Todd’s loan signings while still in administration. But his short-term partnership with Adebola destroyed a strong Bristol City side, with the Welshman earning the man-of-the-match honours with a goal-scoring display.

Back-up goalkeeper Scott Loach scooped the T&A’s most consistent player award for his 20-game stay in the second half of McCall’s first term. The untried Watford teenager provided a safe pair of hands during another challenging period.

There you have it, my pick of the short-term arrivals. Of course there are many others – probably too many – who have passed through the Valley Parade swing doors without making any impression.

But from these eyes in the press box, this temporary team could hold their heads up high in the claret and amber.

Parker's Loan XI: Pickford; Doyle, Egan, Burke, Taylor; Etherington, Evans, Wallwork, Reach; Stead, Adebola. Subs: Holmes, Furman, Proctor, Moore, Threlfall, Roberts, Loach.