Bradford City
In May 2022, Young signed for Bradford City for an undisclosed fee on a three-year deal. [12] [13] [14] He said that working with manager Mark Hughes was the main attraction. [15] He scored on his debut for the club, an equalising goal in an eventual 3–2 loss away at Barrow on 6 August 2022. [16] [17] By 8 September, he had scored three goals in the past two games, but said that he aware that a first-team place was not guaranteed due to the size of the squad. [18] His goal against Walsall was nominated for the League Two goal of the month for September. [19] However, by January 2023 he had not played in the League since mid-September, and had only made two EFL Trophy appearances since (both in October), with Hughes saying that there were players ahead of him in the squad. [20]
On 14 January 2023, Young joined League Two side Barrow on loan for the remainder of the 2022–23 season. [21] [22] [23] At the time Barrow manager Pete Wild described Young as a "top player", [24] with Wild later saying that Young was starting to impress him with his performances. [25]
Ahead of the 2023–24 season, Young was told that he could find a new club. [26] In July 2023, Hughes revealed that Young had rejected loan moves away from the club. [27] He missed the club's pre-season trip to Spain, and played with the youth team in a friendly against Bradford (Park Avenue). [28] On 2 August, Young signed for League Two rivals Swindon Town on loan for the 2023–24 season. [29] [30] [31] On 26 August, Young scored four goals against Crawley Town in a 6–0 rout. [32] After three goals early in the season, he was described as an "instant hit" at Swindon, [33] and after scoring seven goals in four games, he was nominated for the League Two August 2023 Player of the Month award, [34] which Young won. [35] [36] He also won the November Player of the Year award. [37] Young said he was playing the best football of his career at Swindon. [38]
In December 2023, new Bradford City manager Graham Alexander suggested that he would recall Young, who was the league's top-scorer, from his loan in January 2024. [39] Young spoke about the difficulty in being frozen out by Hughes. [40] On 2 January 2024, he was recalled by his parent club. [41] [42] Alexander said that Young would feature in his first-teams plans, [43] whilst Swindon manager Michael Flynn was praised for "reviving" Young's career. [44] Young attracted attention from League One clubs in the January transfer window, [45] [46] although a preliminary bid from one club was rejected for being too low, [47] whilst former club Swindon were "priced out" of bidding for the player. [48] Alexander said that Young would be considered for first-team action when he returned from a slight injury which had seen him miss two matches. [49] A second bid for Young was also rejected, [50] with Carlisle United describing the asking price as "ridiculous". [51] Carlisle manager Paul Simpson later apologised for his comments. [52] A third bid was also rejected, [53] whilst Derby County and Charlton Athletic were said to be interested. [54]
Young returned to training in January 2024, [55] whilst Alexander defended himself against criticism from fans about Young. [56] Young returned to bradford's first-team on 27 January 2024, appearing as a substitute in a 2–0 defeat away at former club Swindon. [57] His return was heralded by teammate Alex Gilliead, [58] and assistant manager Chris Lucketti. [59] He then suffered an injury in a match, [60] later undergoing hamstring surgery. [61] He was later ruled out for the rest of the season. [62]
He returned to fitness in May 2024, after the end of the season, [63] and had an "intensive" two weeks at St George's Park in June 2024 ahead of the new 2024–25 season. [64] He later said he had been fighting to return to the first-team under previous manager Mark Hughes, [65] and that he was looking forward to a new start under new manager Graham Alexander. [66] He returned to play in pre-season, with 45 minutes in a friendly against Chorley, [67] although other players had game time ahead of him in later friendlies, [68] as he was subject to transfer speculation. [69] [70]
He was not in Bradford's squad for their first home game of the 2024–25 season. [71] Alexander later said that the transfer speculation was distracting Young. [72] The club accepted a transfer offer from another unnamed club, [73] with Fleetwood Town also being linked with his signing. [74] Alexander said that Young had to decide his future. [75]
