BRADFORD City manager Mark Hughes has failed to rule out the Bantams recalling striker Jake Young from his loan with Swindon Town in January.
Young agreed a season-long switch to the Robins in early August and hit the ground running for his new club - netting seven times in four League Two matches while providing three assists along the way.
That lightning start began to set nerves jangling among some Swindon supporters, who feared Town's League Two rivals might bring Young back to Yorkshire in a bid to derail a potential promotion rival.
When asked about the future of Young and former Town midfielder, Ryan East, Hughes left all options on the table.
Speaking to BBC Radio West Yorkshire, Hughes said: "The idea was to give them game-time, and that's what they're getting, so we're delighted with that.
"You hope they do well [while on loan] - that's the intention, and both of them are at the moment.
"Jake is a confidence player, and he just needed to play. I was honest with him at the start of the season, we were going to bring in players that might styme him a little bit in terms of opportunities.
"We gave him the opportunity to go out [on loan] if the right club came in, and it looks like that's happened. He's enjoying that, and he's getting game-time, which was the idea."
When pushed on whether Hughes might recall Young in January, the Bradford boss would not be pinned down on a definite answer one way or the other.
He said: "We'll see. It's about circumstances. We don't say yes, we don't say no."
Hughes' comments come days after Town manager Michael Flynn stated he believed both Young and fellow loanee Dan Kemp would remain in Wiltshire for the duration of the campaign.
Flynn said "good faith" tells him the two players would not be called back early and he expects them to help Town's cause all season.
Flynn said: “They are both on season-long loans. There is a small break clause in both, but it is only a small one.
“Now, unless they’re going to go back and play at their clubs or somebody puts in a ridiculous offer for one of them that the other club can’t turn down, I’d like to think – in good faith – that they’ll be here for the duration of the season.”
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