Mark Hughes, the manager of Bradford, has congratulated Norwich City for helping to finalize Jonathan Tomkinson’s season-long loan transfer.
After a first deadline night transfer was delayed by bureaucracy, the former manager of Manchester City and Stoke is certain that the 21-year-old center defender will be worth the wait.
Tomkinson made his Bantams debut last Saturday as a late substitution in a 1-1 draw against Grimsby, after the Football League’s approval of his drawn-out contract.
According to Hughes, who was cited by the Telegraph and Argus, “I wasn’t optimistic at all.” “All the paperwork must be submitted, and the likelihood of success is significantly higher if you do it in a timely manner. However, we then had to wait.
“We did everything we could on our end, and then it was just a matter of the league going through it all to make sure everything was in before the deadline, then they could sanction it,” said the participant.
“It seemed unlikely that it would occur. However, everything has been handled, and to be honest, Norwich has been a huge assistance.
They were excellent in terms of making it happen from their end and clearly wanted Jon to have the chance to see us.
He is a talented young player who has previously played in League Two. Not a first loan, that is.
“We thought we’d try it because he’s obviously well-liked at his parent club.
‘If we can,’
“We’ll take our time with him and integrate him into the group. Then he should be ready to go. It was just a good opportunity to get a player that we’d like to work with.”
Tomkinson admits working with Hughes, and the pressure of a League Two promotion tilt with Bradford, convinced him to make the switch to Valley Parade.
Tomkinson was part of a Stevenage squad who earned promotion from the fourth tier last season, and wants to emulate the feat in a season long loan to push his Canaries’ claims.
“One thing about me is I don’t mind pressure. I love the big, important games,” said the American, interviewed by the Bantams’ official youtube channel, who was part of David Wagner’s pre-season plans before an untimely ankle injury in a friendly against FC Kaiserslautern.
“I want every game to have some meaning, and you get that when you are chasing promotion. You dream about playing in front of big crowds, passionate people, because we are all fans.
“It was a mixed experience (at Stevenage). I don’t think I played as much as I expected or would have liked to. But they won promotion and some players never see that. But that was a completely different style of football to what I expect here.
“He (Hughes) seems very composed and knowledgeable and we get on well already. It will be great for me to learn from him.
“Everyone comes with different experiences. In America, they are very big on playing out from the back, the pretty stuff if you like, and then you come to England and it is so much more physical.
“Obviously at Norwich you are still encouraged to play very good football, so there is a balance. Now coming down into League Two it is going to be a bit rougher for me. But I had a taste of that on loan at Stevenage last year. I just want to be the most complete player I can.”
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