Nottingham Forest striker Chris Wood has been making waves in the Premier League this season and it doesn’t look like the New Zealander will be slowing down any time soon.
Having already reached 12 First league goals in 2024/25 Wood is sixth in the Golden Boot race and is on track to surpass his best scoring season in the top flight. His record currently stands at 14, achieved by Nottingham Forest in 2023/24 i Burnley in 2019/20.
Things improved noticeably when he worked under Nuno Espirito Santo, with the Portuguese boss helping to get the best out of the 33-year-old. He emphasizes that the confidence the manager has in him has certainly helped, and regular starts have also contributed to his excellent form.
Nottingham Forest striker Chris Wood continues to have high goals for himself this season
“It’s hard to boil it down to one thing,” Wood says FourFourTwo. “It was mainly determined by the performance week after week and the faith that the manager instilled in me.
“It’s nice to be able to play under a manager like Nuno: having a manager who supports you gives you a lot of confidence. We were very solid in the first 10 games of the season and we did brilliantly as a team, which was great – we started off fantastic. It’s nice that I did well too, but there are still many things I would like to achieve.”
Wood is in excellent form and Nottingham Forest are surprisingly in the top flight Champions League places after the halfway point of the season. Victory against Liverpool on Tuesday night at the City Ground, he could even put them in the title race, bringing them within three points of the Reds.
However, such good performances did not surprise the players from Nottingham Forest, because the team is convinced that it will be much more competitive in the 2024/25 season.
“On paper our squad is really good and I think it was the same last season – we just didn’t get the best out of us fighting relegation,” explains Wood.
“It’s always difficult to find a result at the bottom, while we started this season very well and I think that gave me confidence.”
While the title race still seems a long way off, there is certainly a strong possibility that Forest will be playing in the Champions League next season – especially if the Premier League gains an additional place in the competition. Wood has played in Europe twice in the past – in the Europa League with Birmingham and Burnley – but has never played in Europe’s premier competition.
