Ex-England and Aston Villa midfielder backs summer signing to bring goals to Luton

Sky Sports pundit Lee Hendrie has backed summer signing Nahki Wells to bring goals to the Hatters’ front-line this season.

The 35-year-old recently put pen to paper to move to Kenilworth Road after being released by Bristol City, where had played 237 times in five years, netting 48 goals, including 10 in the Championship last season. Wells, a Bermudan international, with almost 175 strikes in his career, has reached double figures in 10 of his 14 full seasons as a professional, is now looking to bring that goalscoring nous to the Hatters.

Speaking to Football League World, Hendrie, who played for England and Aston Villa in his own career, has tipped Wells to be up there as one of the division’s leading marksmen, as he said: “I think goals this season will be the main thing for Nahki Wells. The thing with him is that I think he'll play week in, week out. He proved how important he was for Bristol City last season. I thought they might have actually given him another year.

“Dropping down to League One, it's not always easy when you're going down a division by any stretch, but I think Luton will be strong this season. I think they'll show that they've got guaranteed quality in behind Wells to give him service and I think they'll play to his strengths. He's got the potential to be one of the top scorers in League One this season if he keeps himself fit and he finds himself playing consistently.”

The forward has featured regularly for the Hatters during pre-season, scoring once so far, that coming in the 3-1 win over Colchester United, coming close to adding to that tally when denied by Tottenham Hotspur keeper Antonin Kinsky on Saturday, then firing another attempt over the bar. Discussing the forward, boss Matt Bloomfield revealed how he was won over by his first conversation that the forward was the right man to replace the goals of Carlton Morris, who has joined Derby County, with Elijah Adebayo also still out for the foreseeable future too. He added: “What a guy by the way, just a really driven character who wants to go and score goals, wants to go and achieve something, wants to be part of a group, wants to lead, wants to be here.

"It took one phone call between myself and Nahki for us both to believe that it was the right next step. Usually I meet people face to face but after that phone call I was convinced he was for me and the face to face meeting came later down the line as the deal was struck. He’s got goals in him, he loves leading the line, he loves being the focal point, but he can also play different roles. He can drop deeper and free someone else, he can do different parts. He’s a really intelligent footballer, and he’s a goalscorer, so we’re really pleased to have him.”