City have reportedly made their first significant move in the transfer market by offering a deal to experienced defender Sonny Bradley, as reported by Football League World.
The 33-year-old is a free agent following his release from Derby County and is thought to be on our radar after the departure of Paudie O’Connor.
With Paudie heading to Reading and Sean Roughan joining Huddersfield Town, we do look light in central defence heading into the summer rebuild. It now appears the club have acted, tabling a contract for former Luton Town and Derby County man Bradley.
Bradley’s journey began with Hull City, where, after loans at Harrogate Town and Swedish side IK Frej, he made a handful of first-team appearances before two loan spells at Aldershot Town – the second of which earned him valuable League Two experience and his first senior goal. Released in 2013, he joined Portsmouth, making 38 appearances and scoring twice across a turbulent campaign before moving on to Crawley Town a year later.
Leading the pack one last time.
Thank you, skip! 🫡#COYH pic.twitter.com/UuilKpRTsF
— Luton Town FC (@LutonTown) May 29, 2023
It was at Plymouth Argyle where Bradley started to truly make his name, helping them to promotion from League Two and racking up 95 appearances across two seasons. That earned him a move to Luton Town, where he became a key figure, captaining the side during a meteoric rise that took them to the Championship. He scored a memorable 25-yard volley against Middlesbrough and eventually departed Kenilworth Road in 2023 having played over 170 times.
Derby County came calling next, and while his debut season featured promotion and 41 appearances, his second saw game time limited. A red card at Northampton dented his progress, though he returned to score a brace in a 3–0 win against Leyton Orient and helped secure promotion with back-to-back clean sheets to close the campaign.
He struggled to get regular games following their promotion to the Championship, appearing just nine times for the Rams in 2024/25. That lack of opportunity saw him loaned out to Wycombe Wanderers earlier this year, where he quickly became a key figure under Mike Dodds. Bradley played 21 times for the Chairboys, appearing against the Imps. He also played in both play-off semi-final matches against Charlton, firmly putting him as a top six League One player.
— Sonny Bradley (@SonnyBradley91) June 19, 2025
While other League One clubs have moved quickly this summer, our business has been more reserved. Zane Okoro’s new contract has been the only bit of confirmed activity so far, but it seems we’re now looking to get our summer up and running.
I would be quite happy if this were accurate – Bradley may be 33, but he appeared 21 times for Wycombe, and is seemingly still as fit as ever. There’s a big James Collins connection here as well, both having played at Derby and Luton Town together. He’d offer experience, as well as a similar profile to O’Connor, with one subtle difference. Bradley is left-footed, which would bring a certain balance to our back four, as well as giving us options in terms of formation, should we need it.
If he were to come to City, my thinking would be he plays alongside Tom Hamer in our back line, with Adam Jackson and Lewis Montsma used sparingly. Hamer’s pace would complement Bradley well, whereas the potential incomer would be a threat from set pieces and strong defending in our box.
It remains to be seen if there’s any truth to the reports, of course, but FLW tend to be more reliable than most of the news aggregators out there.