IT WAS the seven-year-old’s moment of skill by the corner flag at Otley Town that focused the scout’s attention.

“He did a little bit of magic right in the corner. It was a Cruyff step-over and he just breezed past two players in a really tight area.”

The Colton Juniors midfielder had caught the eye of Clive Michallat, City’s head of recruitment at the time.

Ten years later, Freddy Jeffreys is looking back on his senior debut after coming off the bench in the late stages of last week’s EFL Trophy win at Grimsby.

 

 

A proud occasion for the teenager, who turned 18 in August, and the man who had first spotted his talent in that knock-out competition.

“The summer tournaments were always a good opportunity to watch a lot of kids playing all in one hit,” said Michallat.

“We tried to be really proactive in the Leeds area. Obviously, you’ve had players like Andre Wisdom, Josh Stones who’s now at Wigan, Cole Roberts, Kian Scales and so on.

“We wanted to get into Leeds’ backyard and take players from under their noses at that time.

“I was head of recruitment, Alan Nevison the academy manager and we had a really good team of scouts.

“The really successful under-18s team that won the league a couple of years ago were those lads around Freddy’s time and he was obviously one of them.

“Freddy was playing Colton Juniors and even at that age, he was very quick-footed and skilful.

“Then he did this bit of magic and I just thought, ‘wow’, and he had my attention. It was one of those moments.

“Then you’re looking to see what his character’s like. He was so determined and would chase everything.

“Straight away I spoke to the manager at the end of that game, who passed me on to Freddy’s dad and I guess the rest is history.”

Jeffreys started in City’s school of excellence at Woodhouse Grove a couple of months later and progressed his way up the ranks, often playing in higher age groups.

Bradford Telegraph and Argus: Freddy Jeffreys, second right, with Gabe Wadsworth, Noah Wadsworth and Sam Bentley who have all signed their first professional contractsFreddy Jeffreys, second right, with Gabe Wadsworth, Noah Wadsworth and Sam Bentley who have all signed their first professional contracts (Image: Bradford City)

He was still 16 when helping the under-19s to EFL Youth Alliance North-East Division title success in 2022, scoring four goals in a team that won 17 of their last 20 games.

Fulham and Southampton were rumoured to be monitoring Jeffreys around that time and Brentford had a look last season but an injury held him back. He had an operation over the summer.

Jeffreys was one of four players to sign first pro deals ahead of the new campaign. Noah Wadsworth, another of those youngsters, was also in the travelling squad at Blundell Park.

Michallat said: “They only found about it the day before and they were both so excited.

“Mark Trueman is a massive fan of Freddy’s but he’d only played 70 minutes before last Tuesday’s game. He was still trying to build up his fitness and get over the injury.

“The real marker was the late Neil Matthews, who was to Bradford City like Eric Harrison was at Man United. He was City’s equivalent.

“For Neil to rave about Freddy, that showed how good a player he can be.

“Freddy is best at centre mid where he can drive on. His work rate is fantastic, his vision and passing ability as well.

“He’s very well thought of like Bobby Pointon and very similar. He’s a bright lad who always wants to learn.”

Pointon’s rapid rise has highlighted the exciting prospects that can come through the system. Michallat recalls how the fortunes have changed for Valley Parade’s newest hero.

“Football is so fickle. I went to do a progress report on Bobby last year at Farsley Celtic and he was on the bench.

“He came on for the last 10 minutes – and showed more than the rest of the players had done in the previous 80. He was so creative and showed so much.

 

 

“Michael, his dad, spoke to me before that game and thought they’d hit a brick wall.

“But Bobby moved on from Farsley to Liversedge where he got more of an opportunity. It shows the small margins in football.

“I’ve scouted players in the past who were really highly rated. James King was one but he picked up a lot of injuries.

“Bobby has got a really good support mechanism with his family and it’s the same for Freddy.

“It’s so important to have that positivity from the parents. I’ve watched games when you’ve got negative vibes coming from the family and that can’t help the players.

“There’s lots of talent coming through. There’s a good scouting network now and Pete Nicholson does the development centres and, safe to say, we’re going to be looking at under-16s to under-19s as well.

“We’re still looking for those gems and trying to pick up the late developers.”