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Nahki Michael Wells (born 1 June 1990) is a Bermudian professional footballer who plays as a forward for EFL League One club Luton Town and the Bermuda national team.
Wells began his career in his native Bermuda, playing for Dandy Town Hornets and Bermuda Hogges. After moving to England, where he had a brief spell in non-league football with Eccleshill United, Wells subsequently played in the Football League for Carlisle United, Bradford City and Huddersfield Town. After a move to Burnley, he spent two spells on loan at Queens Park Rangers before making a permanent transfer to Bristol City.
Wells later moved to England to attend the Richmond International Academic and Soccer Academy in Leeds, graduating in the academy's first year, and also played club football with local non-League team Eccleshill United. Wells underwent a trial with Carlisle United in November 2010, his second with the club. Before moving to the UK, Wells sought the advice of compatriot Shaun Goater. In December 2010, it was announced that Wells would sign for Carlisle United on 1 January 2011. Wells made his debut for Carlisle United on 15 January 2011, in a League One game against Bristol Rovers. In March 2011, Wells publicly announced his wish to play at Wembley Stadium with Carlisle United in the 2011 Football League Trophy Final, to be played in April 2011. However, Wells did not make the matchday squad, as Carlisle United beat Brentford 1–0.
On 3 May 2011, it was announced that Wells' contract with Carlisle United would not be renewed at the end of the season.
On 9 March 2012, Bradford City exercised an option in Wells' contract, and extended his deal by one year. On 14 April, he scored a hat-trick as Bradford beat Northampton Town 3–1. "Northampton 1–3 Bradford" BBC Sport. 14 April 2012. Retrieved 14 April 2012. He was later named in the Football League Two Team of the Week for that week. "Wells named in FL Team of the Week" Bradford City F.C. 17 April 2012. Retrieved 17 April 2012. Following this, former Bradford City player Dean Windass urged Wells to remain with the club, while ex-Bermudian international Kyle Lightbourne compared him to Jermain Defoe. In early May, Wells and Bradford City began discussions over a new four-year contract, and later that month he publicly assured fans that he would stay with the club. In June there were further rumours of Wells leaving the club, while it was later revealed that he nearly never signed for the club in the first place. In July, Wells stated he was in no rush to sign a new contract.
In May 2013, Wells scored three goals across two legs to help Bradford City qualify for the League Two play-off final. The goals took his tally for the season to 25, a target he had set himself before the season begun. He then scored in the final against Northampton Town, which Bradford won 3–0 to earn promotion to League One. "Bradford 3–0 Northampton" BBC Sport. 18 May 2013. Retrieved 19 May 2013. Following the promotion, Wells stated he wished to stay at the club, though the club later admitted they might sell the player if a suitable offer came in. Former City player John Hendrie advised Wells to remain at the club.
In late September 2013 Wells suffered ankle ligament damage in a match, and was ruled out for a number of weeks. Manager Phil Parkinson stated he would not rush Wells back into play, Wells returned, after two months out, to score a hat-trick against Coventry City. In December 2013, club co-chairman Julian Rhodes admitted that the player might leave the club, as rumours surrounding the player's possible departure began to increase. That same month, colleague Andrew Davies described Wells and Hanson as the best strike pair in the division, and Davies also urged Wells to remain with the club, while manager Phil Parkinson said that he did not want the club to sell the player. Wells picked up an injury at the end of December 2013, and at the start of the January 2014 transfer window, manager Phil Parkinson said he wanted any transfer issues sorted quickly. The next day, 3 January 2014, the club announced that they had already rejected one offer for the player, after saying that Wells has been receiving interest from a number of Premier League clubs, as well as Championship side Burnley. The club also said they would lose £1 million for the 2013–14 season if they did not sell Wells. Despite all the speculation, Parkinson said he felt Wells would be able to ignore off-the-field matters and concentrate on his playing, though he later admitted that the player was being affected by the rumours.
Wells ended his first full-season with Huddersfield Town as the club's top scorer with 14 goals. At the end of the 2016–17 season, former club Bradford City received a £250,000 bonus payment following Huddersfield's promotion to the Premier League.
On 23 August 2018, Wells signed for EFL Championship side Queens Park Rangers on a season-long loan. He scored his first goal for QPR against Sheffield Wednesday on 23 October 2018.
On 8 August 2019, Wells returned to QPR on loan for the 2019–20 season. In October 2019 he was nominated for the Championship's Player of the Month award for his form during September. He was recalled by Burnley on 27 January 2020.
On 17 May 2025, the club said it was in contract negotiations with Wells. On 23 June 2025, it was confirmed that Wells would be leaving at the end of the month when his contract expired, with Wells saying he intended to stay in the Championship.
Wells also made four unofficial international appearances for Bermuda in the 2007 Island Games.
In late August 2011, Wells was recalled by Bermuda, joining their squad for FIFA World Cup qualifying matches in early September 2011. Wells appeared in five 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches for Bermuda, against Barbados, Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago.
Wells was described as "one of Bermuda's most promising players, with an exceptionally bright future" in February 2012 by then Sports Minister Glenn Blakeney, and was honoured by Premier Craig Cannonier in June 2013. He has been described as the country's "star footballer".
In May 2019, he was named to Bermuda's 40-man provisional squad for the 2019 Gold Cup. Later that month, he was named to the final 23-man squad. At the tournament, Wells scored twice, netting goals against Costa Rica in a 2–1 defeat, and against Nicaragua in a 2–0 victory.
| + Appearances and goals by club, season and competition | |||
| Bermuda Hogges | 2010 | USL PDL | 2 |
| Carlisle United | 2010–11 | League One | 0 |
| Bradford City | 2011–12 | League Two | 12 |
| 2012–13 | League Two | 26 | |
| 2013–14 | League One | 15 | |
| Huddersfield Town | 2013–14 | Championship | 7 |
| 2014–15 | Championship | 14 | |
| 2015–16 | Championship | 18 | |
| 2016–17 | Championship | 10 | |
| Burnley | 2017–18 | Premier League | 0 |
| 2018–19 | Premier League | 0 | |
| 2019–20 | Premier League | 0 | |
| Queens Park Rangers (loan) | 2018–19 | Championship | 9 |
| Queens Park Rangers (loan) | 2019–20 | Championship | 15 |
| Bristol City | 2019–20 | Championship | 5 |
| 2020–21 | Championship | 11 | |
| 2021–22 | Championship | 3 | |
| 2022–23 | Championship | 11 | |
| 2023–24 | Championship | 8 | |
| 2024–25 | Championship | 10 | |
| Luton Town | 2025–26 | League One | 1 |
| + Appearances and goals by national team and year !National team!!Year!!Apps!!Goals | |
| Bermuda | 0 |
| 0 | |
| 2 | |
| 3 | |
| 1 | |
| 6 | |
| 4 | |
| 1 | |
| 0 | |
| 3 | |
| + List of international goals scored by Nahki Wells !scope="col" | No. !scope="col" | Date !scope="col" | Venue !scope="col" | Opponent !scope="col" | Score !scope="col" | Result !scope="col" | Competition !scope="col" class="unsortable" | |
| 1 | Bermuda National Stadium, Devonshire Parish, Bermuda | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification | ||||
| 2 | Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification | ||||
| 3 | Thomas Robinson Stadium, Nassau, The Bahamas | 2–0 | 5–0 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification | ||||
| 4 | Bermuda National Stadium, Devonshire Parish, Bermuda | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification | ||||
| 5 | 3–0 | |||||||
| 6 | Bermuda National Stadium, Devonshire Parish, Bermuda | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2019–20 CONCACAF Nations League qualifying | ||||
| 7 | Estadio Cibao FC, Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic | 2–1 | 3–1 | 2019–20 CONCACAF Nations League qualifying | ||||
| 8 | Toyota Stadium, Frisco, United States | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup | ||||
| 9 | Red Bull Arena, Harrison, United States | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup | ||||
| 10 | Estadio Rommel Fernández, Panama City, Panama | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2019–20 CONCACAF Nations League A | ||||
| 11 | 2–0 | |||||||
| 12 | Bermuda National Stadium, Devonshire Parish, Bermuda | 1–3 | 1–5 | 2019–20 CONCACAF Nations League A | ||||
| 13 | Chase Stadium, Fort Lauderdale, United States | 1–0 | 8–1 | 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup qualification | ||||
| 14 | 2–0 | |||||||
| 15 | 8–1 | |||||||
| 16 | RV PNK Stadium, Fort Lauderdale, United States | 1–3 | 1–4 | 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup qualification | ||||
| 17 | Félix Sánchez Olympic Stadium, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic | 2–2 | 2–3 | 2022–23 CONCACAF Nations League B | ||||
| 18 | Bermuda National Stadium, Devonshire Parish, Bermuda | 1–0 | 6–1 | 2024–25 CONCACAF Nations League B | ||||
| 19 | 2–0 | |||||||
| 20 | 3–0 |
Huddersfield Town
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