Chris Wood and his 'tough' Newcastle United exit
Former Newcastle United striker Chris Wood is in the form of his life at Nottingham Forest – two years after a surprise transfer.
Just over two years ago, I interviewed Chris Wood in Saudi Arabia.
The striker was speaking to journalists at a media day at Newcastle United’s hotel in central Riyadh.
It was not just any hotel, either. It was the Four Seasons in the iconic Kingdom Centre, which towers above the city.
At the time, there was no inkling that the Newcastle career of Wood, a towering striker, would soon be over.
The squad was in the country for warm weather training, and a friendly against Al Hilal, during a break in domestic football for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Wood, relaxed and at ease in the sprawling lobby, spoke about his hopes for the second half of the season as players and club officials milled around.
The New Zealand international had joined the club at the start of the year after Newcastle activated a £25million release clause in his Burnley contract.
Wood, signed after the club lost Callum Wilson to a long-term injury, helped United stay up, and the club was third in the table and pushing for Champions League football when the Premier League took a break for the World Cup.
Surprise transfer
Yet, just over a month later, he was gone.
Forest signed him in a surprise move which helped the club stay within the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR), but the switch left Howe a striker down.
Howe said in a presser the day Wood underwent his Forest medical that a failure to sign a replacement would leave the club “dangerously short”.
“He’s been excellent, both on and off the pitch, in terms of his leadership and positivity even when he’s not played,” said Howe. “You can’t underestimate the role he’s played.”
Howe, tellingly, added that it was a “good deal financially” for a club which would soon face PSR challenges following substantial post-takeover investment in players.
The club, which signed Anthony Gordon for £45million from Everton that month, could have done with Wood at times over the past couple of years, but the move worked financially for United.
As for 33-year-old Wood, he’s been playing week in, week out, something he would not have done had he stayed on Tyneside.
I am writing this as I recently sat down with Wood again for an exclusive interview for the latest FourFourTwo magazine – this time in very different surroundings.
A lot has happened since that afternoon in Riyadh.
And, today, the New Zealander, a player in the mould of a classic English No.9, is one of the Premier League’s form strikers along with 13-goal Alexander Isak, his former Newcastle team-mate.
The fee United paid for Wood three years ago was questioned by some fans, but the club, in the relegation zone at the time, desperately needed a proven striker, and that was more or less the going rate for a player capable of getting into double figures in the top flight.
Wood did exactly what was asked of him when he signed. The club stayed up, and Burnley’s loss was Newcastle’s gain.
Arguably, it was money well spent.
Wood – who has 11 goals to his name so far this season – spoke at length in the video analysis room of Forest’s Wilford Lane training ground, charting his career journey from New Zealand to England. After stepping up to men’s football aged 14 in his homeland, Wood was spotted by a scout, and he joined West Bromwich Albion as a teenager.
The Auckland-born player, thoughtful and articulate, also gave an insight into his “tough” mid-season transfer from Newcastle to Forest in the 2022/23 season.
It is worth a read.
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Of course, Wood – who hopes to go to next year’s World Cup with New Zealand – is not the only former United player in Nuno Espirto Santo’s team.
Midfielder Elliot Anderson, 22, has been a revelation since his surprise move to the City Ground in the summer, while Matz Sels – who had a difficult spell on Tyneside during Rafa Benitez’s time as manager – has starred in goal.
A smiling Sels popped his head into the room as I waited for Wood, and it’s clear he’s enjoying his second spell in England.
The goalkeeper, signed from Strasbourg early last year, did not have too much to smile about at Newcastle, but Forest, as I write this, are third in the Premier League. Sels, certainly, has played his part in their success up to now.
Forest, like fifth-placed Newcastle, will fancy their chances of securing European football next term.
And Wood and Isak could have a big say on the make up of the Premier League’s top five or six this season.