There was a piece written for Capital Football in the wake of Bristol City’s draw with West Brom that Nahki Wells’ can be forever considered - assuming he doesn’t one day pitch up again in west London - as “the one that got away” for Queens Park Rangers.
Following an extremely profitable 18-month loan from Burnley, the Bermudian’s form for the Rs in the Championship was such that it persuaded City he was the one, in terms of their search for a proven Championship striker, and so the club parted with around £5m, far more than QPR could afford, to sign him in January 2020.
To the annoyance of City fans, in the wake of his last minute winner at the Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium, QPR owner Tony Fernandes revealed that Wells messaged him to say : “Tony, I am always going to score against QPR. That’s why you should have signed me.”
There’s always been that lingering suspicion that in Wells’ ideal world he would have remained a Hoop and signed a permanent deal there.
However, strangely, that concept of being “the one that got away” or “what could have been” is also applicable to the very club he ended up signing for. Because although he’s made 96 appearances over two-and-a-half seasons and very much been a City player, with just seven games of this campaign remaining and considerable uncertainty around his future beyond that, he’s never quite felt a comfortable fit.
And when he does move on, the reaction could be much the same as those QPR fans wondering what could have happened to their club had they retained the services of Wells; City supporters may well consider how different their fortunes would have been if the club had been able to harness his full ability.
Instead, we’re likely to be left with a feeling of regret and frustration that either the money (both in transfer fee and wages) could have been better spent - City passed on the option of signing Kieffer Moore from Barnsley, as one example - or annoyance that three different managers have never used the 31-year-old to his and the team’s benefit.
In the early stages of his time at City, having struck on a winning formula at QPR when he had pure wingers outside him in Ebere Eze and Bright Osayi-Samuel, he tends to play slightly outside Famara Diedhiou with Andi Weimann to the other side. A situation further complicated by Covid-19, as his family tried to settle in Bristol, the return to fitness of Benik Afobe and then Lee Johnson’s dismissal towards the end of the campaign.
Dean Holden altered the formula slightly and with Diedhiou unable to be sold that summer, as his contract counted down, and Chris Martin arriving, Wells was continually pushed to the periphery on the pitch and started the bulk of his 46 appearances that season in a left-sided forward role. He finished as club top scorer with 10 but expressed some frustration as being typecast in that position towards the end of the campaign.
This term, Weimann’s season coupled with Martin’s consistency and the emergence of Antoine Semenyo as a viable Championship central striker has pushed him to fourth choice and he’s made just five starts.
He’s not without culpability and clearly Pearson has some concern over his suitability in his team, perhaps over his lack of defensive game and physicality, but throughout his time at City there’s been this strange contraction of Wells being signed (and paid) as the club’s premier striker but never actually being able to play there for a consistent spell.
There is a misconception around the Bermudian that he is arrogant, aloof and a little distant. That is fundamentally untrue and unfair; possibly linked to the salary he’s paid relative to his teammates and his lack of minutes on the field. Granted, his views on the Covid vaccine in December 2020 probably didn’t help the public's overall perception, but we’re really not going to go down that route so please don’t put any nonsense in the comments section.
As the Tyreeq Bakinson affair should have told you all, Pearson doesn’t put up with bad eggs who mope and moan about their position in the squad. Wells is a great professional who has volunteered to play for the Under-23s several times and, as his manager said on Saturday in the wake of his goal against West Brom, one his strengths as a person is also a weakness in terms of his role in the squad.
"He’s a reliable person," Pearson told BBC Radio Bristol. "The good thing about Nahki is - and it’s maybe not good for him - as a manager, I know that whatever you ask him to do, he’ll do it."
The more Wells agrees to things and gets on with it, the further he moves away from what he wants to be in this squad. To the point where we’re approaching a transfer window where he could feasibly leave the club and 59 of his 96 appearances (61 per cent) have been as a starter, and probably a third of that, at best, as a genuine central No9.
It’s a shame in a way, and raises wider conversations over the decision to sign him in January 2020, both from a sporting and financial sense. But also, hey, it’s football and it happens.
That being said, Semenyo’s knee injury could present the 31-year-old with one last opportunity to showcase his capabilities, raise his market value or even potentially - albeit it’s the longest of long shots - change hearts and minds around what to do with him this summer.
With Semenyo facing a possible extended spell out due to his knee injury and, let’s be honest, it makes no sense given City’s season drifting into lower mid-table mediocrity to rush him back in any way and further risk damaging the joint, there is a vacancy alongside Chris Martin to lead the attack.
Top scorer Weimann is the obvious candidate but the Austrian also suits the advanced midfield role, and with options also diminishing in that area, it makes a lot of sense to give Wells a run of games.
As mentioned, if the decision is to explore transfer options for him in the summer, giving him these last seven matches could be the difference between a litany of substandard loan proposals and at least one decent transfer fee from a rival, or team overseas.
As it stands, and sorry to break this news to the Bristol chapter of the Nahki Wells Fanclub, the need to further reduce the wage bill and the 12 months remaining on his contract - equating to roughly £1.2m - means he has to be moved on, as was the case last summer and in January when Cardiff and Swansea City failed with loan attempts.
However, there are a lot of moving pieces when it comes to City’s summer transfer window. Just looking at the striker’s department, we know Martin is staying, it’s likely Weimann remains although, who knows, as that goal tally heads towards 20 and he starts being selected by Austria, that could lead to new-found interest in the forward but Semenyo’s status is decidedly uncertain.
If Semenyo was to be sold for, you would hope a significant fee, Pearson has admitted he has needs at the back so that would take priority and if the forward’s market proves as problematic as 2021, the common sense decision would be to retain Wells and get some value out of the last year of his contract.
These seven games, in effect, could help make that decision for Pearson. Say he was to score 3-4 goals between now and the end of the season, that surely plants the seed that if Semenyo is to depart, the Bermudian can then easily make up the shortfall in goals, even if he is then to leave on a free the following summer.
This is, of course, ignoring Wells’ own personal desires and clearly he’s at a stage of his career where he doesn’t want to be starting single figures in terms of games, nor should he be expected to, really. But opportunity, as it has appeared to now, and may do in the summer, could effectively lead to a squad promotion.
However, a quote from Pearson two weeks ago has to be considered amid all this debate and, granted, it was in reference to Danny Simpson but could be pertinent to Wells’ situation and what we can expect to see from the team in the final stages of the season.
"I’m looking at who’s going to be here next year," Pearson said. "I don’t intend on making short-term decisions for us at the moment."
With all due respect to him, if Semenyo is out for a lengthy time, starting Wells is very much a “short-term decision” Pearson speaks of and the medium to long-term answer may have raised its hand up very clearly on Monday lunchtime.
Tommy Conway’s hat-trick for the Under-23s probably came at the worst possible time for Wells, who congratulated his younger teammates following their 4-0 win over Crewe Alexandra on Twitter with the message, "well done my young Gs". And there is a very plausible scenario developing now whereby it’s Conway who’s thrust into the XI ahead of the veteran.
Based on his public pronouncements of his qualities, Conway appears one of the young players in the squad who Pearson is most enthused about. Due to his talent, pace and also his willingness to work off the ball.
When discussing “the next generation”, Pearson’s go-to namecheck outside of the obvious ones such as Semenyo and Alex Scott is often Conway. He wouldn’t admit it, but his subconscious is clearly revealing an excitement over what the forward could be.
If Pearson has the club’s medium to long-term future in mind over these seven remaining games which are probably the difference between finishing 14th and 20th, then the line-ups will surely reflect that.
City would like results to give them optimism and momentum going into 2022/23, so the manager can’t be too experimental, but if his plan for next season involves Conway as fourth-choice striker (which is wholly feasible) and not Wells, then outside of a vain attempt to try and hook a club in to spend a little extra on him, it makes increasing sense to give the teenager a run of games, especially if he’s scoring hat-tricks at Under-23 level.
It’s been clear this season that those who have impressed for the U23 have been quickly shunted into first-team consideration and here’s an individual who’s already knocking on the door of the Championship whose case has been further reinforced by his prowess at youth level.
It would be a difficult one for Wells to swallow but also would be sadly representative of his time at City where he's increasingly resembling, at least in an abstract sense, the one that got away.
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