BRISTOL, England– Bermuda captain Nahki Wells, starved of playing time this season, scored twice for Bristol City’s Under-23s against second-tier rivals Cardiff City’s counterparts on Tuesday, just 24 hours after the Bluebirds had made two failed loan attempts to sign the 31-year-old striker on the final day of the English January transfer window.
With manager Nigel Pearson and assistant Curtis Fleming watching from the stands at the club’s high-performance center at Failand, Wells struck either side of half-time in a 3-3 draw with Cardiff as the visitors bounced back from 3-0 down.
His brace came after he netted four goals in an Under-23s match against Hull City last September and served as a fresh reminder to Pearson, who has been reluctant to start him, of his goal-scoring ability.
On Sunday night, Wells emerged as a Cardiff transfer target in anticipation of Wales striker Kieffer Moore’s move to Bournemouth. Still, they were only prepared to make loan offers, and City’s position was always that they would only let the Bermudian leave on a permanent deal, according to the Bristol Live website.
Wells has netted only one goal in this campaign, against Queens Park Rangers (QPR), having been the Championship outfit’s top scorer with ten goals last season. He joined City from Premier League side Burnley in January 2020 after two loan spells at QPR in a three-and-a-half-year deal for a reported £4 million (US$5.4 million) fee.
Wells, whose selection in Tuesday’s Under-23s side allowed him to build up his match fitness, opened the scoring with a close-range header from James Morton’s inswinging free-kick after getting ahead of his marker. At the same time, his second came after he first struck the crossbar from Ayman Benarous’ deep cross.
Wells completed a full 90 minutes and was one of several first-team players in the Under-23 line-up along with Benarous, Danny Simpson, Tommy Conway, and Sam Bell.
Bristol Live said Wells was “bright throughout, happy to take the ball into feet with his back to goal and either spin or lay the ball off, as well as looking to play on the shoulder and try to profit from passes into the channels.”
The website added: “The challenge for Wells now is to force his way back into the first-team picture … with Antoine Semenyo muscling his way ahead of the experienced forward.”
Wells has not started a league game since November 2, and his role in the squad, from a tactical standpoint, is challenging to decipher, with the manager not seeming to trust him as a central striker fully, the website said.
Wells grew frustrated last season when he was continually assigned a left-sided attacking role under former boss Dean Holden, “and although there’s been no danger of that repeating this term, he’s been squeezed out of a central role,” the website said.
Pearson did field Wells, Chris Martin, and Andi Weimann together in a run of games through October and November, with mixed results, and City have looked far more fluid and dangerous in the final third since Semenyo broke back into the team in early December.
“But now in position, at least until the end of the season, Wells can be a crucial figure for the Robins, should Pearson be able to find a spot for him,” the website said.
Meanwhile, Wells’ Bermuda team-mate Willie Clemons’ late sending-off marred Stowmarket Town’s 3-1 win away to AFC Sudbury in the Isthmian League North.
The striker was shown a straight red in stoppage time for dissent, while compatriot Reggie Lambe, a former Bermuda captain, was booked in a heated match.
Clemons had been in sparkling form going into the match, having scored in each of his team’s previous three outings in league and cup action.
and then 