The then striker scoring 41 goals in 65 appearances between 1993 and 1995, which got him his move to Liverpool.
Nottingham Forest are in action on Friday and Stan Collymore has been addressing his old club’s need for goals and analysing the contribution of one Forest striker in particular.
“I watched Chris Wood play against Everton last week and I was really disappointed.
“The rules of the game have been tweaked in favour of centre forwards – they’re encouraged to hold the ball up with their back to the goal before turning and running, so there’s an obvious need for players with strong physicality but I haven’t seen any of that from Wood at Forest so far.
He really has to do more if he’s to convince the club to sign him permanently because if they don’t, I don’t know what will be next for him because I can’t see a way back for him at St James’ Park.”
Well, apart from seeing his late equaliser against Manchester City, I haven’t seen much, if anything, really of Chris Wood, since he moved to Nottingham Forest in January.
However, what I do know, unlike Stan Collymore, is that Chris Wood will very definitely be a Nottingham Forest player this summer, regardless of how he performs the rest of this season.
When leaving in January, the Newcastle United announcement (see below) stated ‘Chris Wood has joined fellow Premier League side Nottingham Forest on loan until the end of the season, with an obligation to make the transfer permanent.’
Then mid-February saw an exclusive from The Times, with Martin Hardy revealing the permanent deal appearance trigger, along with the transfer fee.
The man from The Times saying that Chris Wood needed to make only three starts for Forest to trigger the ‘obligation’ clause.
The 31 year old started Forest’s draw against Bournemouth, a win over Leeds and then defeat to Fulham on 11 February.
That start at Craven Cottage meant that Chris Wood will now definitely become a Nottingham Forest player once the summer transfer window opens, having started three games.
The Times stated that Newcastle United are now guaranteed to receive £15m for the striker, though no mention as to whether that includes the loan fee, or whether that will be on top.
Chris Wood is one of 30 players who have signed for Forest since their promotion less than a year ago, Jonjo Shelvey another of the 30.
The initial / current loan aspect (he won’t officially become a Forest player until the summer, despite having already triggering a permanent move) means Chris Wood couldn’t play against Newcastle on Friday night. On top of that though, Wood was a second half sub during Forest’s defeat at Spurs on Saturday but then only lasted six minutes himself before forced off with a thigh injury.
Forest with a significant number of injuries at the moment, especially when it comes to attacking players / goalscorers.
Newcastle United official announcement – 20 January 2023:
‘Newcastle United striker Chris Wood has joined fellow Premier League side Nottingham Forest on loan until the end of the season, with an obligation to make the transfer permanent.
Wood joined the Magpies from Burnley in January 2022 and helped Eddie Howe’s side to move from the relegation places last season to an eventual 11th-placed finish – scoring vital goals in matches against Southampton and Fulham.
The 31-year-old has made 22 appearances in all competitions for United this season, scoring on three occasions.
Everyone at Newcastle United extends their best wishes to Chris for the rest of the season.
