Nahki Wells exclusive: Leeds United fans hate me, but I'd have loved to have played for them, says ex Bradford City and Huddersfield Town man
By his own admission Nahki Wells has a love-hate relationship with Leeds United.
The 34-year-old is one of those players Leeds supporters love to hate because of his Huddersfield and Bradford past.
But, as Bristol City’s striker prepares to halt the Elland Road promotion push at Ashton Gate today, he revealed Leeds is also a club he hates to love.
“I’ve always had it really bad with Leeds fans and the way they target me,” Wells told The Yorkshire Post.
“I’ve heard the whole stadium join together and sing ‘Nahki Wells, you’re not very good’ or unprintable words to that effect for 10 minutes.
“And last time I was at Elland Road I injured my ankle, hobbled round the pitch and Leeds fans tore into me.
“But I can see why they give me a hard time. There’s the Bradford connection, a Huddersfield link, and false rumours I’d turned down Leeds.
“It seemed I’d chosen Huddersfield over Leeds when leaving Bradford which didn't go down too well but if only they knew the truth.”
Now Wells, who warmed up to face Daniel Farke’s side with a brace in City’s 2-2 draw at Stoke on Tuesday, is putting the record straight.
“I didn’t even have the option to snub Leeds and this has been my little secret but I’d actually have jumped at the chance to play for them,” Wells added with a smile.
“When I first came to England I lived in Leeds as a student at Thomas Danby College and went to a game at Elland Road where I was bowled over by the place.
“I’ve never said this before and I ain’t gonna lie, the first impressions really hit me hard and I sat there thinking I’d really love to play for this club.
“They were League One at the time and living in the city, seeing their players out and about, I felt envious. I badly wanted to play for Leeds but it wasn’t to be.”
Instead, the Bermudan “started my journey slowly” and headed to Carlisle, thanks to former Bradford and Halifax winger Mark Ellis.
While coaching in America, Ellis co-founded the Richmond International Academic and Football Academy (RIASA), which provided Wells’ passport to success.
Under Ellis’s auspices, Wells played for UK Richmond in the muck and nettles of the West Yorkshire League.
“Nahki scored goals for fun,” said Ellis. “He scored a 10-minute hat-trick at Peel Park which was full of dogs and horses and I knew then he was a diamond.”
Thanks to Ellis’s friendship with ex-Bradford colleague and then Carlisle manager Greg Abbott, Wells headed to Cumbria in December 2010. “I had two-day trial and didn't necessarily deserve a contract but they took a punt with a short-term deal on peanuts,” said Wells.
“I was happy to have a foot in the door but it didn't work out. I was released which turned out to be a blessing in disguise. They were a top-ten League One club but it was a shock because I’d gone from playing pub players and academies and struggled to be consistent.
“One day I'd the best trainer and next I couldn't trap a ball. It was a humbling experience, which paid dividends. I became hungrier and took League Two by storm with Bradford.”
Wells scored 53 times in 76 Bradford starts, helping the Bantams to promotion and the 2013 Capital One Cup Final.
He moved to Huddersfield in a club-record £1.5m Terriers deal in January 2014 and the Leeds rivalry began in earnest.
“We had some right old scraps with Leeds but it was sweet when us underdogs leapfrogged over them,” said Wells.
“And we even beat Leeds 4-1 on their turf. I scored and ran from one side of the pitch to the other, winding their fans up as I went to get my own back. But that confirmed Elland Road’s definitely the most intimidating ground. It’s on a different level.”
Wells scored in the Wembley penalty shoot-out that saw Town secure promotion to the Premier League in 2017. But what he describes as “the biggest game of my career because there was so much at stake” was his last in Town colours as he soon moved over the Pennines to Burnley.
“I’d loved to have stuck around for a crack at the Premier League with Town after doing so much to get us there,” said Wells. “But football is political. It was a contractual situation and I left with head held high.
“It was tough because I made lifelong friends there like my roommate Hoggy (Jonathan Hogg), Sean Scannell, Joe Lolley and kitman Brooky (Andrew Brook). But these things happen for a reason and I still got a bite of the cherry at Burnley and a life-long ambition came true.
“I was just a boy from Bermuda who always dreamed of making it in England, and reaching the Promised Land of the Premier League.”
There’s just one other thing Wells wants to come clean on ahead of the Leeds game: “As a kid I was a Manchester United fan and I hero-worshipped Ruud van Nistelrooy.
“So that’s another thing for Leeds fans to hold against me. But I can take it. I keep getting told I’m an old cat. I’ve been around the block enough times to handle any flak that comes my way.”