Nahki Wells reveals what his main aim at Bristol City is | OneFootball

It has been a season to forget so far for Nahki Wells but after staying with Bristol City past the winter transfer window, the striker has revealed to The Royal Gazette that he wants to be ‘grabbing headlines for the right reasons’ with his side.

This year, the 31-year-old has played in 22 league games for the Robins but has managed only five starts for them. It has meant he has a paltry return of just two goals and one assist for the side in the Championship so far this year.

Other forwards have now emerged above Wells in the pecking order and with his replacements firing in the goals on a more frequent basis, it has led to the former Huddersfield man being more and more frequently left out on the sidelines.

Quiz: Can you name which English club these 24 ex-Bristol City players play for now?

1 of 24

1. Cole Skuse

Ipswich Town Southend United Gillingham Colchester United

It looked like it might lead to a departure for the forward in January – even if just a short-term one – but Nigel Pearson kept hold of the attacker and the player is now hopeful that he can kick on, get more gametime and ultimately get more goals at Ashton Gate.

He certainly has the ability to, as showcased by his previous records in the second tier. Last year, he featured 46 times in total for Bristol City and managed 13 goal contributions along the way, including double digits for goals scored.

He still knows where the back of the net is then but his lack of form has led to others overtaking him in the players standings and means he has had to spend more and more time on the sidelines. Speaking to The Royal Gazette though, Wells has revealed that he aims to ‘get his career back on track’ soon.

He said: “My main aim is to get my career back on track by playing; doing well and scoring goals and grabbing the headlines for all the right reasons. And that comes on the back of playing and doing well, which is very difficult to do from the sidelines.”

Wells feels like he has been – and still is – in good shape then and has the ability to make a difference but having fallen behind, it certainly can be difficult to get in the team.

He added: “I came back to preseason in optimum shape fully prepared on the back of two decent performances for my country in the Gold Cup,” he added. “I came back in a good place but having represented my country and come back a bit late, kind of left me behind the eight ball.

“The team kind of shaped itself. A team which I saw myself being a real important figure turned out to be completely the opposite, and I think not being here for the start of preseason had a part to play in it.”

The Verdict

Nahki Wells might be into his thirties now – and the years of him bagging double digits for goals for Huddersfield and Bradford are well in the rearview mirror – but that isn’t to say he can’t still bag frequently in the Championship.

Last year, he proved that with regular gametime he can provide regular goals. Granted, it wasn’t to the same level as some other forwards in the division but he is still a player that you would want in your squad and your lineup if you needed a goal.

Wells though has had to spend large parts of this year on the bench or out of the squad entirely. As the player himself said, you can’t score if you don’t get on the field and if you can’t get a regular run of games then it is hard to find your rhythm and play well.

I’m surprised that he wasn’t allowed to leave in January to get more games elsewhere but Pearson clearly likes the 31-year-old. That could mean he gets more action in the second half of the season but with the likes of Andreas Weimann firing in the goals most weeks it could be hard to break into the team still.