Date: 21-23 January 2026
Location: Bradford City Offices, Morning through Evening
Morning rain painted faint diagonal streaks against the wide upstairs window of the conference room. Jake stood with his arms crossed, watching it run like veins down the glass, blurring the pitch below. The stadium sat empty, just scaffolding and silence beneath the cloud-heavy sky. But inside the room, behind him, the day had already begun to shift.
Three pages lay spread across the oak table. Neat. Signed. Stamped.
Okafor.
Ibáñez.
Mensah.
Transfers. Confirmed. Final.
The ink wasn't even dry.
Michael Stone stood a few paces off, silent, waiting. The hum of the radiator and the tap-tap of rain filled the space between them.
Jake's eyes stayed on the glass.
"They gave us their peak," he said, voice low, even. "Now we give them their wings."
No ceremony. No need for it.
He turned slightly toward the table, then added, "Just make sure we don't get shortchanged."
