Bradford City Sign Defender Hayden Matthews on Loan

Bradford City have moved to strengthen their back line with the season-long loan signing of Portsmouth defender Hayden Matthews.

The 22-year-old centre-back, capped once by Australia, heads to Mbanq Valley Parade looking for the regular football that has eluded him at Fratton Park. Portsmouth paid £1.25m to bring him in from Sydney FC in January 2025, a fee that underlined the expectation around him, but injuries have repeatedly stalled his progress.

Those setbacks mean Matthews has managed just 20 appearances for Pompey. His last competitive outing came in the 1-1 draw with Birmingham at Fratton Park on the final day of last season, a reminder of how long he has been waiting for a sustained run.

For Bradford, this is another clear sign of intent. Matthews becomes the club’s third recent loan addition, following the arrivals of QPR midfielder Kieran Morgan and Blackburn Rovers defender George Pratt, as the squad is reshaped with a blend of youthful energy and top-level potential.

Now it falls to Matthews to turn promise into presence, and to prove that the stop-start spell on the south coast was only a pause, not the story.