Huddersfield Town told to avoid Nahki Wells transfer - unless one condition is met | OneFootball

Experienced striker Nahki Wells is reportedly of interest to Yorkshire duo Bradford City and Huddersfield Town

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…

Experienced striker Nahki Wells is reportedly of interest to Yorkshire duo Bradford City and Huddersfield Town once again, according to journalist Alan Nixon.

Wells departed Bristol City after five-and-a-half years at Ashton Gate, having scored 10 goals in 39 Championship appearances during the 24/25 season.

Wells originally joined the Terriers from the Bantams in January 2014 for a then-club-record fee - who thrived under different systems before struggling to adapt to promotion winner David Wagner's gegenpress approach.

Nakhi Wells is the wrong profile of striker for Huddersfield Town

FLW spoke with their Huddersfield Town fan pundit, Graeme Rayner, who believes the veteran striker wouldn't address the club's current needs up front.

"I really like Nahki Wells, I think he’s a very talented striker, very very good and was probably one that suffered from the system that David Wagner played when he came in, meaning he just wasn’t suited to the style of football that we were going to be playing," Rayner told FLW.

The German manager's system favoured quick,technical players who could contribute to the team's intense pressing game - which didn't suit Wells' more traditional striker profile.

Rayner highlighted the many attacking options currently at Lee Grants disposal, questioning whether another addition in Wells' mould would be worth it.

"However, do I think he’s the sort of striker we need? No. In a way, he’s probably better than the strikers of a similar size and type that we have, but we’ve got a lot of bodies up there at the moment," he explained.

"We’ve got Rhys Healey, Dion Charles, Joe Taylor, Bojan Radulovic, Freddie Ladapo, so we’ve got five strikers on the books - all of whom except for Bojan and Healey featured in the friendly on Saturday which I went to watch."

The Terriers do boast significant depth in their forward line, with recent additions including Northern Ireland international Dion Charles, who joined from Bolton Wanderers, and Joe Taylor from Luton - who reportedly cost £750k and £3m respectively.

Physicality up top should be the priority for Lee Grant this summer

Rather than adding another technical striker like Wells, Rayner argues Huddersfield need someone completely different to complement their existing options.

"He’s probably better than those (who featured in the friendly), but, he's not the gap we need to fill, i think the gap we need to fill is a big, powerful, tall striker who can hold the ball up, bully defences and has an eye for goal," Rayner stated.

"He’s completely the opposite type of striker we need, we need someone who’s like a 6’3” 6’4”, strong, aggressive, you know striker that will not let defenders bully him and will actually put the fear of god into them."

This assessment supports research that shows forwards in League One need to adapt to varied physical demands, with some systems requiring more aerial presence and hold-up play.

Conditional interest in Nahki Wells, Huddersfield Town return

Despite his reservations about Wells fitting Town's tactical needs, Rayner wouldn't completely rule out a potential reunion under specific circumstances.

"If we can get him on a one-year deal and the wage wasn’t extortionate and we were still confident in bringing in that other type of striker than yeah fine, but if this was the only striker we’d bring in then no," he concluded.

Wells, who has seemingly ruled out a return to Bradford City, has expressed his preference for remaining at Championship level after helping Bristol City secure a playoff position last season.

At 35, the experienced striker may need to reassess his options if second-tier opportunities don't materialise, potentially opening the door for a League One return.

The focus under new manager Lee Grant appears to be building a squad capable of challenging for promotion back to the Championship. Whether that includes space for a player of Wells' profile remains to be seen - but Rayner thinks the Terriers' priority lies elsewhere in the transfer market.