Wells Transfer 101 For Non-Football Followers
For Bermudians who aren’t entirely familiar with English football – but are Nahki Wells fan — we put together an overview of what non-football followers might want to know about Wells transfer and new team.
Following yesterday’s record-breaking transfer, Huddersfield Town gained a slew of new fans located across the ocean, with the team saying that within hours of his transfer they had orders for Wells shirts from Bermuda and new Bermudian followers on social media.
What’s The Deal With This Record Breaking Transfer Fee?
Huddersfield didn’t disclose the exact amount they paid, but confirmed it broke the old Club record, which stood at £1.2 million [$2 million], so we know the fee exceeded that. While there wasn’t any official number released, some media reports from the UK suggest it may have been around £1.5m [$2.47m].
The money wasn’t paid directly to Wells, it was paid by Huddersfield to Bradford City to “buy” Wells out of his contract with the Club.
This is not only a Huddersfield record, it’s also a new record for a Bermudian footballer. This isn’t just a big deal here in Bermuda, this is also quite impressive by international standards, with players who command fees this high called “million pound footballers.”
Only the upper echelon of players are sold for millions, while very elite footballers are sold for tens of millions.
How Long Is The Contract?
Huddersfield signed Wells to a 4½ year contract – up until June 2018 when Wells will be exactly 28 years old, as his birthday is on June 1st. It does not mean he is guaranteed to stay there for the entire time as Huddersfield, like Bradford, has the option to “sell” him to another team during the time he is under contract.
What League Is This New Team In? Did Wells Move Up?
Yes, he moved up. Huddersfield is in the Championship League, which is the 2nd highest under the very top English League, which is called Premier and where the ‘super famous’ teams like Manchester United are.
This is a move up for Wells, as Bradford is in League One, which is the 3rd highest League. It’s the second move up for Wells, as when he started with Bradford they were in League Two, which is the 4th highest.
Teams move up and down depending on how well they do. At the end of the season, the very top teams in a League get “promoted” up to the higher League, while teams at the very bottom get “relegated” down.
There are 24 teams in the Championship League, and Huddersfield are presently ranked #13.
What Teams Will He Play Against In This New League?
The other teams in the Championship League are: Queen’s Park Rangers/QPR, Leeds United, Blackburn Rovers, Doncaster Rovers, Blackpool, Middlesbrough, Bolton Wanderers, Nottingham Forest, Brighton & Hove Albion, Birmingham City, Charlton Athletic, Barnsley, Millwall, Ipswich Town, Watford, Reading, Wigan Athletic, AFC Bournemouth, Sheffield Wednesday, Yeovil Town, Burnley, Derby County and Leicester City.
Can Wells Get To The Very Top League?
There is no way to say for sure. Some football pundits say Wells has tons of potential and he is on record as saying he would like to eventually play in the Premier League. He’s 23 years old, so has years of playing time left. To move up to Premier League, either Huddersfield has to do really well and get promoted, or Wells has to be transferred again in the future to a Premier League team.
Bermuda has already had footballers play in the very top English League, with Shaun Goater, Kyle Lightbourne and Clyde Best having accomplished this. This isn’t to say Wells has to move again, he has already achieved a lot as a professional footballer, and playing in the Championship League is prestigious.
Where Is Huddersfield?
Huddersfield is in West Yorkshire, England. It’s about 190 miles north of London, and only about 10 miles away from Bradford City – Wells old team. Click here to see a map showing where Huddersfield is.
When Will He Start Playing For Huddersfield?
We have to wait and see, but he might start playing today [Jan 11], as Huddersfield is set to take on Millwall. Huddersfield posted a video [below] of Wells, with the caption saying he was arriving for what “could be his first appearance for the Club.” [Update: He not only started playing today,but he scored in his debut!]
Are These Games On TV?
Most television coverage here focuses on the Premier League.
Do We Have Other Bermudians Playing In The Professional Leagues?
Yes we do! Bermuda’s Jonte Smith is signed to Crawley Town [which is in the English League I], while Bermudian Reggie Lambe plays professionally in Canada for Toronto FC which is in the North American MLS League. We have also had many other Bermudians play professional football in the past.
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Articles that link to this one:
- Nahki Wells Makes Championship League Debut | Bernews.com | January 11, 2014
- Weekend Reports, Photos, Videos, Links & More | Bernews.com | January 13, 2014
- Nahki Wells Scores Against Nottingham Forest - Bernews.com : Bernews.com | November 1, 2014
Well… was wells paid some of that money?
Congrats Nahki I am very proud of you and hope when you reach the Premier League you go with ARSENAL!!!!!!
All the best hon
“Yes, he moved up. Huddersfield is in the Championship League, which is the 2nd highest under the very top English League, which is called Premier and where the ‘super famous’ teams like Manchester United are.”
CORRECTION BERNEWS: USED to be ‘super famous’
650 million fans = super famous. Your jealousy of the most supported sports team in the world is very obvious. Get back to me when your team wins 20 prem league titles. United just lost the greatest coach in the history of all sports( no one has one more titles than the great Sir Alex Ferguson, Phil Jackson is second)so it is very understandable that they are in a transition period. My guess is that you are a plastic( Chelsea or City depending who winning) or a bin dipper ( liver-poo).
Talking about plastics, where are you from Yadon?
Congratulations Nahki – surprised that the Terriers won the bidding war. A club with a big history and a great stadium – hope you do well for them.
Thanks Bernews for the commentary on Wells. Proud of you Nahki!
@Yadon 7th place league champions shut ya dam mouth! Manchester United foundations are built on Liverpool success! Wrap ya head around that!
LMAO delusional much ? Q: Whats the only ship to never dock in Liverpool ? A: The Premiership
Q: Why do birds fly upside down over Liverpool?
A: Because there is nothing worth sh@tting on LOL
Manchester is the pits, which is why birds wont even fly over that Sewer. Also why Utd’s ground is known as Old Toilet, which is in Salford by the way!!
Ferguson has certainly won the right to be hailed greatest league manager as far as titles & trophies won due in part to his long stay and success, pity he wasn’t that good in Europe though eh?? LOL. Also Utd don’t have 20 première league titles try about 13 I think? as I believe 7 Titles where won when it was called the 1st division.(Clearly the best team these last 20 years – credit where it’s due!!) but seeing as its still three points for a win one for a draw etc… there is no real difference when counting Titles no matter which name its called.
Typical Utd fan though, always reinventing History to suit their argument. Lets see how ‘the Chosen’ (laughs) One does.
Thank you Bernews for sharing this article for non footballers. Appreciate it. He’ll Never Walk Alone. lol
All the best to this youngster in his future endeavors and I trust that he is doing the right thing with his finances because I wouldn’t him to be another broke pro athlete but rather another successful one like magic Johnson & junior bridgeman
http://thebiglead.com/2013/08/20/junior-bridgeman-former-nba-player-now-owns-196-wendys-franchises-and-over-100-chilis/
Watch out for the young Bermudians playing in semi-pro football clubs. The come up is real Bda!
Thank you Bernews for the info for us non-football followers of Nahki, but can you tell us how much if any of that transfer fee does Wells get. Curious.
Sorry, we don’t know for sure as they kept the details private!
It’s not even clear exactly how much they paid, all we know for sure is that it was at least £1.2m [$2m].
They only said it was a “record signing for a 4.5 year contract” then later on said it has “add ons”.
The “add ons” could be things like bonuses for goals or part of any future transfer fee if Huddersfield “sells” Wells in the future…things like that.
With some transfers all the details come out, but with this one both teams agreed to keep details private.
When researching similar deals, the player normally nets 10% of the deal’s gross worth, so if you take the estimated top cost of 2M, Mr. Wells would received 200k.
Q
Could imagine how de guy feels who’s jersey he autographed before he played. Priceless.
Does anyone know how much of that money actually goes to the young Mr.wells ?
Bernews can you find out ?
Congratulations Bernews. This is an excellent article on a really outstanding young Bermudian who is setting a superb example of what hard work, commitment and talent can achieve. Nahki could probably have chosen to transfer to a Premier Division club such as Aston Villa who apparently were showing interest, but he has wisely chosen to jump just the one league up for now, and he doesn’t have to move too far away to do so. He’s young enough to continue developing his skills, and hopefully he will enjoy success in the Championship League which could lead to even bigger and better things in the Premier League.
Good luck Nahki, and whatever you do please ingnore the childish comments of some of these juvenile so-called football supporters who can only see as far as their own clubs. Although I have a favourite team in the Premier Division, from now on I will be supporting Huddersfield , and if you transfer elsewhere I will be supporting your new club, just as I did when Shawn made his way up to Manchester City.
So-called football supporters? Changing teams whenever a player moves isn’t supporting a club, it’s supporting the player.
There is also no such thing as the Premier Division, but we’ll let that one slide.
Thaks for the lecture Forbes – if it was meant for me. You may have slightly misunderstood my comment. I’ve been a diehard supporter of the same football club since shortly after sheddng diapers. It is NOT one of the so-called big clubs but has always managed to stay around to cause the occasional problem to the Liverpools, Man United’s, Arsenal’s, Chelsea’s etc. I will never change my allegiance to my hometown club.
Having said that I love to follow the progress of our Bermudian players who make itvinto the English leagues. Have been doing so since Clyde Best starred for West Ham, and Shawn and Kyle followed suit with other clubs.
To me it makes life interesting to follow their progress and support them regardless of which club they play for. You may not understand this rationale but if a club is willing to buy and pay one of our Bermudians players then I believe they deserve our support.
As long as Nahki plays for Huddersfield they have my full support – unless they happen to play against my home town team!
I believe the going rate for the player’s cut of a transfer fee is ten percent.