Bradford City backed for stance on "tricky" Nahki Wells transfer | OneFootball

FLW's Bradford City Fan Pundit reveals his thoughts on the club not pursuing Nahki Wells

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Bradford City were linked with a return for former striker Nahki Wells on a free transfer this summer.

Journalist Alan Nixon revealed on his Patreon that the Bantams were an option that the player was considering following his release from Championship side Bristol City.

However, manager Graham Alexander has revealed that the club were never going to be able to afford his wages, with Wells then signing for League One rivals Luton Town.

Wells scored 53 goals in 112 appearances across two-and-a-half seasons at Valley Parade - and was a key part in their promotion to League One via the play-offs in 2013, scoring a volley to help win the final at Wembley.

Graham Alexander backed for not pursuing Nahki Wells

FLW's Bradford City Fan Pundit, Boris Thomson, acknowledged how tough it would've been to bring Wells back and ultimately backed the club's decision not to pursue the striker.

"Nahki Wells was always a tricky one," Thomson told FLW.

"The obvious thought between Bradford fans is we’d love to have him back, there’s no doubt about it. He is as much of a club legend as we’ve had in recent times, and it would’ve been great to have him back."

However, Thomson was quick to point out the cost of bringing Wells back to West Yorkshire. "Now, we knew it would’ve cost a lot to have him back, and it doesn’t surprise me that Alexander has openly said that the cost was too much," he added.

"I wouldn’t say we should've broken the bank to bring Wells back because he is a player who, is not at the end of his career, but approaching it, and I trust Alexander and David Sharpe, the Director of Football, in their signings.

"They’ve made some quality ones in the last couple of years and I can completely acknowledge why they didn’t pursue Wells further," Thomson continued.

Sharpe became head of football operations at Bradford in April last year, and was only 23 when he was appointed Wigan chairman in 2015.

Will Swan and Stephen Humphrys poised to perform well

Rather than pursuing Wells, Bradford City opted to strengthen their forward line with the signings of Stephen Humphrys from Barnsley and Will Swann from Crawley Town.

Both players have signed two-year deals, with Humphrys having scored 52 goals in 219 third-tier appearances throughout his career.

Swan, meanwhile, impressed Thomson with his early performances, including scoring his first goal for the club in their Carabao Cup win over Championship outfit Blackburn Rovers.

"I hope the best for Humphrys and Swan - Swan grabbing his first goal against Blackburn, which was great. Everybody wanted to see Wells back, but it was the right decision," Thomson concluded.

In truth, Alexander's admission does show how difficult some clubs have it when trying to balance ambition and being sensible with funds.