By Dexter Smith

Head of Sport

Nahki Wells could not contain his delight after capping the most exhilarating 24 hours in his young life with a superb winner on his debut for Huddersfield Town on Saturday.

The 23-year-old Bermudian was introduced from the substitutes’ bench in the 55th minute of the Sky Bet Championship match against Millwall at the John Smith’s Stadium and sent the majority of the 12,651 in attendance into raptures in the final minute with the match’s only goal from a brilliant volley to pay instant dividends on the more than £1.3 million that Huddersfield paid Bradford City yesterday to gain his services.

“I’m just delighted to get off to a good start,” Wells told his new club’s official website. “The most important thing was to get three points. I wanted to get off to winning ways on my debut and, fortunately enough, we have done that.”

Much of the past 72 hours have been a whirlwind for a player who only three years ago was playing domestic football for Dandy Town and it was no surprise that Mark Robins, his new manager, left out the club’s record signing from the start. “I didn’t get home until late, as we were dealing with paperwork until around 8pm [on Friday], but luckily I got a good night’s sleep,” Wells said. “I was fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to come on for my debut and to get a goal.”

And what a goal it was. In a match that lacked quality for the most part — Huddersfield dominated the first half without providing a cutting edge and Millwall grew into it late on — Wells provided the coup de grace.

With time running out, midfielder Adam Clayton hit a hopeful ball forward that was inadvertently redirected to Wells by Jack Smith, the Millwall defender, and the new boy showed the clinical finishing that made him a hero at Bradford’s Coral Windows Stadium with a caressed right-foot volley that gave David Forde, the goalkeeper, no chance.

Phil Parkinson, the Bradford manager, was often purring in his appreciation of Wells’s quality in recent weeks, as he looked to ward off potential suitors in the transfer window, and Robins was instantly made to be of the same persuasion after witnessing a match-winner that he would have been proud of in his heyday as a marksman to be feared at Norwich City.

“He provided the moment of the game and finished the chance superbly,” Robins said. “It was a real goalscorer’s finish. We are delighted to have him and I am looking forward to working with him. People used to say that I didn’t do anything apart from score goals. If he does that for me, I will be delighted.

“He is only 23 and I believe that we can enhance his potential and make him worth more than his current value. We aren’t getting carried away; we will see how it develops.”

The result takes Huddersfield up one place to twelfth, but they remain five points adrift of the promotion play-off places after Brighton and Hove Albion, who are sixth, beat Birmingham City 1-0.

Any thoughts of Wells getting ahead of himself after his dream start were quickly put down by the man himself. “This is a big step up for me and the most important thing is that I’ve come here ready to learn and get better,” Wells said. “I’m coming into a side that plays ‘Total Football’. This means a lot of my habits will have to be broken. I prefer to play off the shoulder, but a lot of the time I will have to come and link up play and get involved in the game to fit into this team. That will come. I’m confident my hard work will see this happen.”

Wells was still a Bradford player on Saturday, but an emergency loan agreement that was part of the deal allowed him to be available for a sparkling home debut. He officially becomes a Huddersfield player today and will have his first training session with his new team-mates at the start of a big week that culminates in a match away to Queens Park Rangers, the pre-season favourites to win the Championship and return to the Barclays Premier League at the first time of asking. QPR were also one of a number of Championship clubs said to be in the running to sign the striker, whose goal on Saturday took him to 16 for the season.

“It was a bit off the cuff to come on today for 40 minutes and do the best I can,” said Wells, who was seeing his first action since December 29 when he limped off with a tight hamstring after only 28 minutes of Bradford’s 1-1 draw with Swindon Town in League One. “I’m thankful that I’ve come out of it injury-free with three points in the bag.

“I think we lacked a bit of quality in the final third. That’s why it was difficult for me to be involved in so much of the play, but I got my chance and took it.

“It wasn’t the best goal in the world but a great finish. It was a big moment for me and I’m glad I took it well.”