Matthew Pennington has signed a deal with Bradford City ahead of the conclusion of his contract with Blackpool.

Blackpool defender Matthew Pennington will officially depart the club at the end of his contract next week after agreeing a deal with Bradford City.

The 30-year-old had held talks with the Seasiders over extending his stay at Bloomfield Road, but a desire for regular game resulted in him assessing other options.

Following the defensive additions of Fraser Horsfall and Michael Ihiekwe earlier this month, the chances of the centre back agreeing a new deal became even slimmer.

Pennington will remain in League One next season after penning a two-year-deal with Graham Alexander’s newly-promoted Bantams.

Pennington’s career so far

After progressing through Everton’s youth ranks and making nine senior appearances for the Toffees, Pennington made the permanent move to Shrewsbury Town in 2021 after heading out on several loan spells away from Goodison Park.

During his time at the Croud Meadow, he featured 113 times in total for the Salop, before departing for Blackpool in 2023.

Throughout the defender’s first campaign in Tangerine, he played an integral role as part of a back three under Neil Critchley, appearing in 35 League One games.

The departure of the ex-Liverpool coach last August coincided with a poor run of form for Pennington at the start of last season, which resulted in him requiring patience following the appointment of Steve Bruce.

An opportunity to feature regularly in the Seasiders XI again came at the end of November, with the former Shrews man starting nine games on the bounce before suffering an injury.

After returning to full fitness, he featured six further times towards the final stages of the campaign, but found Ipswich Town loanee Elkan Baggott preferred to him when both were available for selection.

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