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Championship: Why the presence of Grant Holt at Huddersfield Town could bring the best out of Nahki Wells

Ahead of Saturday’s Championship clash between Huddersfield Town and Sheffield Wednesday live on Sky Sports, Adam Bate profiles Nahki Wells and wonders whether the prospect of playing alongside a target man could be the making of the Bermudan forward…

Nahki Wells Huddersfield

It was perhaps appropriate that Nahki Wells opened his account for the 2014/15 season with a Capital One Cup hat-trick for Huddersfield in August. After all, this was the competition in which he first rose to prominence as one of Bradford’s heroes of their journey to the 2013 final.

Wells scored the opener in the Bantams’ semi-final against Aston Villa that provided just one of the highlights of a remarkable run for the then League Two club and his partnership with target man James Hanson was a crucial part of their success. Now it is another powerful striker in Grant Holt who is hinting at bringing the best from the 24-year-old Bermudan.

Wells and Hanson soon came to be regarded as the stand-out pairing in League One. “I think we tick all the boxes together,” Wells told the Telegraph & Argus. “He’s strong and good in the air and I’m fit and very reactive to make the runs. I’m very good at judging where the ball is going to drop. With the bit of pace that I’ve got, I’m likely to get on the end of things. That’s why we work so well.”

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Nahki Wells: Starting to sparkle

After a club record £1.3million switch to Huddersfield and without the burly Hanson alongside him, Wells required an adjustment period. Seven goals in 22 games for the Terriers last season represented a respectable haul, especially given that he was expected to operate as a lone striker – a role not obviously suited to his slight frame and one he described as “difficult” in March.

New manager Chris Powell has also dabbled with a 4-3-3 formation since taking over in September and appears to have recognised the need for a different type of striker in that position. He soon brought in Grant Holt on loan with Wells relegated to the bench despite scoring a brace against Millwall shortly before. “I totally understood why,” said Wells in an admirably mature response.

No surprise

But with Powell having once told The Footballers’ Football Show that “you should always try to play with two strikers if you can” it should’ve been no surprise that the Huddersfield boss was prepared to unite the ‘big man – little man’ pairing before long. Restored to the team alongside Holt for the trip to Ipswich last month, Wells scored a brace in a 2-2 draw.

Huddersfield Town's Grant Holt holds off a challenge from Wolverhampton Wanderers' Richard Stearman (right), during the Sky Bet Championship match at the M
Image: Grant Holt: Ideal foil in attack

“That was exactly the response I wanted from Nahki,” said Powell. “He has not played for tactical reasons but he is a goalscorer and you always want them in your squad.” Indeed, Wells has now scored 59 league goals in English football at a rate of better than a goal every 150 minutes. That makes him a three-in-five man and someone it’s difficult for Powell to ignore.

At the start of this month, Wells and Holt started what is – to date – their only home game alongside each other and a 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest in which both men found the net was a resounding stamp of approval for their burgeoning partnership. As with Hanson, the skill-sets complement each other and Holt is relishing the link up.

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“Nahki’s got confidence and is enjoying his football,” he told the Huddersfield Examiner. “Perhaps it helps with myself being there to take some of the pressure off him. The more I can help him out and let him enjoy his game the better. He can be a real threat in front of goal. The way we are working together is the most pleasing thing. And if you put all that together we can do anything.”

Saturday’s visit of Sheffield Wednesday is the first fixture at the Galpharm Stadium since that convincing win over Forest. It’s also a chance for Wells to score the goal that will take his tally for the season into double figures. And with Holt alongside him, that could be just the start.

Watch Huddersfield Town take on Sheffield Wednesday this Saturday from 12pm (Sky Sports 1 HD)

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