Nahki Wells Named On City’s Retained List
[Written by Stephen Wright]
Nahki Wells has been awarded a mark of 6.5 out of 10 for his performances for Bristol City this season by the Bristol Live website.
The Bermudian striker, who has been named on the club’s retained list of players for next term, scored eight goals in all competitions for the Sky Bet Championship club.
He made 41 appearances, netting seven league goals and one in the EFL Cup.
City finished eleventh in the table with 62 points from 46 matches.
James Piercy, the Bristol City reporter at Bristol Live, wrote today [May 14]: “The Bermudian is very much in the post-prime stage of his career, he himself knows that, but even if his explosiveness isn’t quite there anymore, he still has had a role to play in the City squad and tough to argue he’s not had a solid season.
“Eight goals fall short of the 11 he claimed last term but is also representative of the role change in the overall striking hierarchy because whereas they previously came as a pair, the 33-year-old has largely had to play deputy to [Tommy] Conway, 12 years his junior, all season with his starts tending to come when the younger man has needed a rest.
“Wells has fulfilled the task admirably, and after an initial period out injured over [Liam] Manning’s first few games has been ever-present in the matchday squad since mid-December in what has been a slightly thinned-out attacking department due to [Andi] Weimann’s and Adedire Mebude’s lack of impact.”
Piercy said he expects Wells, who is entering the final 12 months of his contract, to play a “supplementary” role next season.
“His finish at Coventry, which threatened to be a winner, was trademark Wells in how he came alive on the fringes of the defence, while his decisive goal at Plymouth Argyle delivered one of the more memorable away days for the travelling Robins support,” he wrote.
“Proof, if it was needed, he can still create magic moments of high quality when it counts.
“If only his turn and finish at Ipswich had been guided an inch or two more to the left, or with marginally less spin, City may have claimed arguably their best result of the season.
“The prospect of Seb Palmer-Houlden and a new striker entering the room over the summer does raise slight doubts as he enters the final 12 months of his contract, but Wells surely possesses enough quality in those shooting boots to keep as a supplementary piece in the squad.”
