Bradford City make decision on Preston North End cult hero and former Leeds United man after promotion
The Bantams signed the defender in October 2024
Former Preston North End defender Paul Huntington has been invited back for pre-season training with Bradford City.
The Bantams secured automatic promotion on the final day of the League Two season, in the most dramatic fashion at Valley Parade. Antoni Sarcevic’s 96th minute strike saw PNE legend Graham Alexander - whose assistant is Chris Lucketti - take Bradford back into the third tier.
On the back of returning to League One, the club have now announced its retained list with six players let go, two options triggered and five players in discussions with the Bantams. As for Huntington, it was simply stated that Bradford have given the centre-back an invite to pre-season.
Last summer, after his two seasons at Carlisle United came to an end, Huntington took part in the PFA’s pre-season camp. He was then snapped up by Bradford in October 2024 and went on to make 21 appearances for them across all competitions. The 37-year-old extended his deal until the end of the season, in January.
Alexander, on that decision at the time, said: “It was an easy decision to extend Paul’s deal as he’s made such a good impression with everyone here. He has shown his desire to be successful again, plus his quality and experience will undoubtedly be an important asset to us this season.”
Huntington’s career will always be followed by Preston supporters. The defender made 306 appearances for the club after joining from Yeovil in 2012. One of those goals came in the League One play-off final win over Swindon Town, in 2015. A testimonial is yet to take place for Huntington but it’s something he recently mentioned in an interview.
Hunts’ old team mate gunning for promotion
Huntington was a key player in Simon Grayson’s promotion-winning side, which then played under him for two years in the Championship. The talisman of that XI was front man Joe Garner, who is still banging the goals in.
Garner opened the scoring in Oldham Athletic’s play-off quarter-final on Wednesday night, as Micky Mellon’s side went on to win 4-0 against Halifax Town.
They will now head to York City in the semi-final on Tuesday. Garner has been at Oldham since January 2024 and scored three goals in 15 appearances this season - all of which have come in his last two outings.
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