For the first time in 29 years, Nottingham Forest will be playing European football this season. After narrowly avoiding the drop in each of their first two seasons back in the top-flight, Forest managed to take the Premier League by storm in 2024/25, hovering in the top three for the majority of the campaign, only to drop to seventh place after a disastrous home stretch.
It remains to be seen whether or not Forest will be playing in the UEFA Europa League or the UEFA Conference League, with a closed-door hearing set to take place on August 8 in the case of Crystal Palace vs. UEFA, Nottingham Forest, and Lyon. Whereas Palace qualified for the Europa League after winning the FA Cup, they were demoted due to a multi-club ownership case with John Textor owning a controlling stake in Palace, as well as his ownership group Eagle Football Group also owning a controlling stake in Lyon.
Whatever competition they play in, Forest will be relying on Chris Wood to bring in the goals.
Born in Auckland, New Zealand, Wood made the move to England in 2009, joining West Bromwich Albion. After loan spells at Barnsley, Brighton & Hove Albion, Birmingham City, Bristol City, Millwall, and Leicester City, Wood made the move to Leicester on a permanent deal. He bounced around between Leicester, Ipswich Town, and Leeds United before joining Burnley. Wood excelled for the Clarets under Sean Dyche, racking up 53 goals and 9 assists in 165 appearances and helping them consolidate their presence in the top division. Eventually, these performances attracted the interest of Newcastle, who signed him for £25 million in January 2022.
Whilst he struggled to make an impact at St. James’ Park, scoring 5 goals in 39 appearances, Wood nevertheless would rebound after making the move to Nottingham Forest in January 2023. Despite being sidelined with a thigh injury for the final months of the campaign, Forest nevertheless decided to sign him in June 2023 for £15 million. Wood didn’t take long to make that seem like a bargain, racking up 15 goals in 35 appearances across all competitions and finishing as their top scorer.
He did even better next season, registering 20 goals and 3 assists in 36 appearances and guiding them to European football. In doing so, Wood out-scored various big-name players like Chelsea’s Cole Palmer (15), Brentford’s Yoane Wissa (19), Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins (16), and Wolves’ Matheus Cunha (15). In fact, only Erling Haaland (22), Alexander Isak (23), and Mohamed Salah (29) scored more in the Premier League.
“I think part of it is that Wood’s playing in a team that suits the way he plays, managers have done a great job in terms of how they use him and how they create chances for him, but when you watch him play, I think he’s very clear about what his strengths are, and how he can be the most effective,” stated Anthony Hudson, speaking to WFi. “I think he just does everything that makes him effective. He doesn’t waste time doing things he’s not good at. He doesn’t waste time in making runs or coming in certain areas where he can’t be effective. He’s an intelligent guy on the pitch; he knows he’s just a very effective player. He knows exactly what he’s good at, and he goes and does it.”
Hudson managed the New Zealand national team between 2014 to 2017, during which time he worked alongside Chris Wood. Wood is the New Zealand captain and their all-time leading scorer, having scored 44 goals in 82 caps for the All Whites.
“He’s just totally clear on what he’s best at, and you know, he’s got great movement in the box. Obviously his physicality is incredible, but I just think he’s always been a great character and completely determined. The trip from England to New Zealand is a killer, especially if you play on a Tuesday night for the national team, you’re not getting back till Thursday. That can really conflict with whether the manager is going to pick you on Saturday in the Premier League or the Championship. There are a lot of managers that can hold that against you. If you’re going off to play for New Zealand now, where you might not play when you get back, because you’re not getting back till Thursday, I would say out of all the players in the squad, and that we had a really good group, but there was never an issue with Chris coming back. He just wanted to play every single game. He had the most amazing attitude, always working at his game.”
At nearly 34 years of age, Chris Wood has built a stellar career for himself both in English football and the New Zealand national team, and it seems that he’s not slowing down anytime soon. Now, can he lead Forest to a deep European run?
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