Sky Sports: Chris Wood: Nottingham Forest striker rivalling Mo Salah and Erling Haaland in Premier League after rise from New Zealand.
Chris Wood has become one of the Premier League’s most dangerous attackers; Sky Sports News’ Danyal Khan speaks with the striker to track his path from New Zealand to the top division;Watch Newcastle against Nottingham Forest on Sky Sports Premier League on Sunday; kick-off at 2pm.
Chris Wood arrived in England from New Zealand at the age of 18 and started at West Brom before finding his feet at Leeds, scoring consistently at Burnley, and prospering at Forest.
After playing at the top level of New Zealand football at the age of 15, Chris Wood went to England at the age of 16 and made his Premier League debut for West Brom under Tony Mowbray in 2009.
Although he featured consistently the next season when West Brom were demoted to the Championship, when they were promoted again, Wood realized he needed to go elsewhere to play consistent minutes.
That led the Kiwi to an incredible three-year period in which he played on loan for six different clubs, ranging from Barnsley to the south coast at Brighton, a return to the Midlands at Birmingham, a spell in the west at Bristol City, a profitable spell in the capital at Millwall, before returning to the Midlands at Leicester, the club he would later join permanently.
“I just wanted to see the country!” Wood made a joke. “It shaped me into the player I am now because I studied from several clubs and gained valuable experience.
“I went where the football was, Barnsley was tough, then we went to Brighton and won League One – it was a terrific period.
“Played with Birmingham then went to Bristol City to try and get more game time – but it was all different situations and scenarios – they were all great in their individual way.”
That led the Kiwi to an incredible three-year period in which he played on loan for six different clubs, ranging from Barnsley to the south coast at Brighton, a return to the Midlands at Birmingham, a spell in the west at Bristol City, a profitable spell in the capital at Millwall, before returning to the Midlands at Leicester, the club he would later join permanently.
“I just wanted to see the country!” Wood made a joke. “It shaped me into the player I am now because I studied from several clubs and gained valuable experience.
“I went where the football was, Barnsley was tough, then we went to Brighton and won League One – it was a terrific period.
“Played with Birmingham then went to Bristol City to try and get more game time – but it was all different situations and scenarios – they were all great in their individual way.”
A turning point at Leeds
After a few years at Leicester, Wood joined Leeds in 2015 and incredibly, despite such a long journey that took him around England, the striker was still just 23 years old.
Wood stated, “I needed to go to Leeds to play more consistent football.” When I was in the Premier League with Leicester, I only played seven games; I needed to acquire more playing time.”
Wood had two managers in his first season, Uwe Rosler and Steve Evans, but it wasn’t until former manager Garry Monk and ex-England striker James Beattie joined the club that Wood had his greatest season yet, netting an astounding 27 goals in 44 Championship matches.
“When Garry Monk and James Beattie arrived, there was a change in the guard from the previous manager.
“Beattie had a significant effect on my career. At the start of the season, the fans were undoubtedly on my back, but James really encouraged me on and off the pitch, to focus on my mental strength and to believe that you can overcome anything.
“That’s what helped and propelled me to my finest season. It was up to him to assist me and provide me with the necessary tools to prosper on the pitch.”
“He was actually playing the role of a single striker, a focal point for the team,” Beattie told me.
“He was unhappy because he wasn’t seeing the ball as often as he wanted to, and he believed he wasn’t contributing enough – but he was.
“If you drop into midfield and clog everything up then the patterns won’t come and you won’t be able to finish off the chances – it took a little bit of time but he was there in the end and his willingness to listen and trust me.”
Burnley & Consistency
You might be forgiven for believing Wood is only now shown how consistent he can be at the highest level of English football.
When he joined Burnley for about £15 million in 2017, he was the club’s record acquisition at the time, but he has since shown his worth.
Returning to the Premier League seven years after his debut, Wood was instrumental in maintaining Burnley in the top tier for the next five seasons.
“I had five great years there and scored lots of goals and achieved lots – getting into the Europa League with Burnley and things like that – we did extremely well with 18 other lads that stuck together for five years,” Wood told the BBC.
He scored more than ten goals in each of his first four seasons with the club, forming a formidable combination with striker Ashley Barnes.
Wood called his relationship with Barnes as ‘telepathic,’ but does the latter, who recently rejoined the Clarets, feel the same way?
“We just had that connection,” Barnes said about his time with Wood.
“We were always performing the opposite actions, and it was hurting these defenders because we could both hold the ball up and go in behind.
“It was basically a blend of motions, which is why we were so successful.
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