Manchester United Born in
Manchester,
Blackpool Frustrated at the lack of opportunities at Manchester United, he moved to
Blackpool in March 2000. Wellens became an instant first team regular at the club and before long he was a fan's favourite. While at the club he helped them win promotion via winning the
2001 Football League Third Division play-off final which he played in at the
Millennium Stadium. He would return to win at the Cardiff stadium two more times with Blackpool, both with the
Football League Trophy; first in
2002 This was done to bypass the 50% sell-on clause that Manchester United had added during Wellens' transfer to the Seasiders. In summer 2007, after turning down an improved contract offered by Oldham, he signed a two-year contract with fellow
League One side
Doncaster Rovers. Wellens made the
2004–05,
2006–07 and
2007–08 League One
PFA Team of the Year. Overall, he made 101 appearances and scored 8 times for Oldham. Wellens has made the claim in an interview with The Deck (LSM Publishing) that he was not paid during the final six months of his time at the club "I think by the time I was sacked by Oldham, I hadn't been paid for six months. I ended up getting it [payment] but I said I'll wait and make sure you pay the players that are due it. It was difficult but I do look back on it and it was a massive learning curve."
Doncaster Rovers Wellens was a member of the Doncaster side that gained promotion to the Championship in 2007–08. His midfield performances brought him several individual awards, several key goals and helped the team gain promotion. His first competitive goal for Doncaster was in August 2007 in the
Football League Cup with the second strike in a 4–1 victory over
Lincoln City; however, this wasn't the first time he had hit the back of the net for Doncaster: in his very first appearance in a
Donny shirt, Wellens chipped the ball over the opposition goalkeeper and into the net from 40 yards in a pre-season friendly against non-league
Retford United. Wellens made 97 appearances, scoring 10 times, during his spell with Doncaster prior to his £1 million move to
Leicester City.
Leicester City playing for Leicester City in June 2010 On 7 July 2009, Wellens joined Leicester City for a potential fee of £1.2 million, signing a three-year contract. Their biggest signing of the summer, Wellens was named by the
BBC Sport as the club's key player for the
2009–10 season. He made his debut in a 2–1 win over
Swansea City on 8 August 2009, scoring his first goal in a 2–0 win over
Middlesbrough on 2 May 2010. Wellens featured in all but three matches for Leicester in
the Championship that season. He played a crucial role in
Nigel Pearson's team that reached the play-offs semi-finals, where they lost to
Cardiff City on penalties. In his second season at the club, Wellens continued to play in midfield under the reign of both
Paulo Sousa and
Sven-Göran Eriksson. He was named
Championship Player of the Month for January, and won the club's player of the year award on 3 May 2011. During the
2011–12 season, Wellens ended the season, back under the returning Nigel Pearson, with 46 appearances in all competitions and captaining the side 19 times, but his season ended early when he suffered a
cruciate knee ligament injury, ruling him out of action for six months. On 4 October, Wellens joined
Ipswich Town a one-month loan deal, and returned to Leicester after an "impressive" seven game spell. On 23 July 2013, Wellens left Leicester City by mutual consent, having played a total of 149 games and scoring 6 goals over his four seasons with them.
Return to Doncaster Rovers On 2 August, Wellens signed a short-term contract with former club
Doncaster Rovers. Having started five of Doncaster's first six games, Wellens extended his contract until January 2014. At the end of the season, he expected to leave the club following a collapsed takeover of the club, but signed a new two-year deal at the beginning of September. He admitted later that it was a mistake rejoining the club "I think I was a little bit naive going in there in the first place. My head was telling me no but my heart was telling me yes"
Shrewsbury Town Wellens joined
Shrewsbury Town on a free transfer in January 2016, signing an 18-month contract. Having helped Shrewsbury to safety in
League One, making twelve appearances in the second half of the
2015–16 season, he was made available on a free transfer less than five months later with manager
Micky Mellon unable to guarantee him first-team football. He left in August after having game time limited.
Salford City In September 2016, Wellens signed for
National League North side
Salford City. He left the club in October.
Macclesfield Town Wellens signed for
National League team
Macclesfield Town in November. ==Managerial career==