Huddersfield, Burnley and Bristol City gained from Bradford City gamble: View | OneFootball

Every club in the world is looking for a goalscorer. They are highly sought after at every level of football and when a club finds one, it's usually a key to success as at the end of the day, goals win games.

Nahki Wells is a goalscorer familiar to football fans throughout the EFL. The athletic and skillful striker has played at every level within the Football League and briefly in the Premier League, and he continues to showcase his skills in the Championship to this day.

But it is Bradford City that all the EFL clubs Wells has played for have to thank for taking a gamble on him.

Originally joining the club on trial before the 2011-12 season after a brief spell at Carlisle United, Wells quickly signed a one-year deal with the Bantams and debuted on the season's opening day.

Wells scored his first goal in August 2011 during a 4–2 win against Barnet. That season, he found the net 12 more times across all competitions, including a hat-trick against Northampton Town in April.

Promotion and Wembley Cup Final for Wells

As the Bantams prepared themselves for their sixth consecutive season in League Two with Phil Parkinson at the helm, the supporters were optimistic about a push for promotion but little did they know how special the 2012-13 season would turn out to be.

Wells was undoubtedly a star for the Bantams that term, scoring 18 league goals in 38 games. His partnership with James Hanson was a key component of his attacking prowess. Between them, they scored 28 league goals, which saw the club finish 7th and grab the final play-off place.

Now, let’s not get too far ahead. This is the same season where Bradford managed to reach a major domestic cup final, and Wells was an important piece of the puzzle.

The Bantams notoriously beat Notts County, Watford, Burton Albion, Wigan Athletic, Arsenal and Aston Villa over two legs, in which Wells started the scoring with a cool finish past Shay Given in the first leg with the claret and amber side winning 4-3 overall on aggregate over the two legs and ultimately ending up in the EFL Cup final against Swansea City at Wembley.

However, the final wasn’t a happy occasion result-wise for Wells and his teammates, as Bradford ended up on the end of a 5-0 drumming from the Swans but that wouldn’t be their only trip to Wembley that season.

The Bantams made the League Two Play-Off final that year, with Wells scoring in both semi-finals and the final itself, helping the club to a convincing 3-0 victory, sealing promotion to League One.

League One, Injuries and Transfers

Wells started the 2013-14 season in great goalscoring form, netting 14 goals in 19 league games before Christmas. He was on target for the club's best-ever goalscoring season and equalled a club record of scoring in eight consecutive matches.

But injuries hampered the striker as well, keeping him sidelined for two months.

In early January 2014, Wells, injured at the time, left the Bantams to sign for nearby rivals Huddersfield Town for an undisclosed club record fee. This move was not popular among the supporters, but it also brought the club some well-needed funds, believed to be in the millions.

Huddersfield, Burnley, QPR and Bristol City have Bradford to thank

Wells went on to score 45 league goals for the Terriers in 144 Championship games, a decent goal return for the former trialist.

After leaving Town, Wells signed for Burnley, appearing nine times in the top flight with no goals. He then spent two impressive loan spells at QPR before joining his current club, Bristol City, during the 2019-20 season.

Now, at the age of 33, Wells is most likely in the latter years of his football playing career but will always be remembered by the fans for his goalscoring ability and link-up play with James Hanson.

There's no denying that the clubs Wells went on to play for after the Bantams, Huddersfield Town, Burnley, QPR, and Bristol City have all benefited from Bradford giving the striker a chance and launching his EFL career.

Not only did the talented forward bring the goals at Valley Parade as an unknown but he's also established himself as a mainstay Championship player in recent years, which many football fans call the best league in England.