A BREAK in Spain might seem a good idea at this time of the year.

Yet for Kai Bruenker, there was no competition when the offer came to head for Bradford instead.

The striker was all booked in for a warm-weather training camp with SC Freiburg when the Bantams came calling and changed his plans.

Half an hour chasing a lost cause in Saturday’s 4-0 humbling by Wimbledon may not have been how he imagined his first taste of the English game.

But Edin Rahic believes Bruenker will learn to cope with the rough and tumble of League One life.

City have been desperate to find a physical support for Charlie Wyke and someone who can take the knocks up front when he needs a breather.

Rahic admitted the classic centre forward is becoming a dying breed both here and in Europe – but he feels the 23-year-old has the attributes to adapt to the English style.

The City chairman said: “We looked last summer and now this winter period for big, strong players in England and they are so rare.

“It is almost out of fashion and in Germany now, you see that has also changed.

“With Mario Gotze now playing as a striker, they call him the ‘wrong nine’ because he is not a big boy.

“We looked at Kai and he is really strong playing in the fourth league. We watched him two or three times more this season with our European scouts and we checked with (head of recruitment) Greg (Abbott).

“At the beginning of January, of course it’s better from my point of view to have English or British players as ‘proper nine’ strikers. But there is nobody on the market and not for such a price.

“We looked for a player who can support Charlie Wyke for ten or 20 minutes at the beginning.

“We don’t expect that Kai will be a starter. But he is there to protect because obviously Charlie cannot play (every minute of) every game.

“That is tough and Charlie understands. If he gets informed by the manager to play 60 or 70 minutes and give everything, that is better for the team.

“It’s protecting our top striker – and if Kai performs, obviously he will get more and more game-time.”

Bruenker has been warned to expect less protection from League One officials than he might have enjoyed back home. There is more leeway for defenders to make their mark.

The presence on the training ground of senior professional development coach Sam Collins, a battle-hardened centre half in his playing days, should show him the ropes.

Rahic said: “Kai has the ability and attitude. We’ve seen him and spoken to SC Freiburg and they say he is a good lad who will run his socks off and keep fighting – and he can score goals.

“But at first he has to learn how to be a target man in England and how to play against centre halves here.

“Luckily, we have Sam Collins as our development manager here, a proper centre half, so he can show him what to expect.

“I think it will take time – three, four or five games and training sessions to understand this is a very different type of football.

“It is not better or worse but different and he has to adapt to that. The first three elbows in his face and he’ll know what is going on.”

The excitement was evident in Bruenker’s voice when he first picked up the phone to Rahic and Abbott. It is not always that easy to sell the prospect of upping sticks to play in the third tier.

Rahic said: “When I speak with players, everyone wants to play in England. But it depends on the level.

“If we were in the Championship, we would easily get players from Germany and Europe.

“But it is more difficult because they don’t understand League One level. They think the third league in England is poor.

“I try to explain that we are playing in front of 19,000 season-ticket holders. It is a proper 90 minutes of running around and physical football.

“Players and managers come over to watch and they see that it’s different. It’s a tough football but a good football.

“We needed that help for Charlie. Otherwise maybe we would have looked for a second-league German striker.

“But it will be like a relegation for them because they expect to move to the Championship.

“For a guy like Kai, coming from the fourth league, it is a big chance. He didn’t need any persuading.”