Newcastle have added striker Chris Wood from Burnley this morning for an undisclosed fee. The 30-year-old has penned a deal until 2024 to become Eddie Howe’s second signing of the window.
Burnley confirmed that Newcastle triggered the striker’s release clause, believed to be £25m. The Clarets have released the following statement on Wood joining Newcastle:
Burnley Football Club can confirm that Chris Wood has today joined Newcastle United for an undisclosed fee, after the club triggered the striker’s transfer release clause.
Wood, who joined the Club in 2017, departs Turf Moor after scoring a total of 53 goals in 165 appearances, including three goals in 21 games this season.
Everyone at Burnley FC thanks Chris for his efforts and contribution during his time at the Club.
Wood joins in time to play a part in Saturday’s massive match against Watford. With Callum Wilson out until March, Wood immediately becomes Newcastle’s main striker for the next few months.
The club have released Wood’s first interview. What stands out is the amount of times he says ‘we’ when referring to his new club.
? "To take my game to the next level, challenging myself at a massive club like Newcastle was the right option."
????
— Newcastle United FC (@NUFC) January 13, 2022
Wood is thrilled to join the ambitious project that Newcastle has become. However, he is well aware that the focus is on the short-term and getting the points needed to survive this trying campaign.
The striker got the job done at Turf Moor scoring in double figures over the past four seasons. He admitted he wanted to keep that streak alive this season. What a hero he would be if he can take his season tally to 10 goals with 7 scored as a Magpie.
Wood has played with Jeff Hendrick at Burnley and Kieran Trippier a dozen years ago when they were on loan with Barnsley. He revealed that Hendrick gave a glowing account of his time at Newcastle despite his limited playing time.
Wood is eager to impress in front of the Newcastle faithful. He understands what he has been brought on board to do – get goals. The New Zealand international is up for the challenge and believes he can take his game to another level in the black and white stripes of Newcastle United.
Loading ...
42 comments so far
ShaytoStay
Jan 13, 2022 at 10:41 AM
Comment #1Come on wood
simon376
Jan 13, 2022 at 10:41 AM
Comment #2Agree about Defoe, would love him for that, but think he has already said, wants to go back to Sunderland
ShaytoStay
Jan 13, 2022 at 10:41 AM
Comment #3Our new les
ShaytoStay
Jan 13, 2022 at 10:43 AM
Comment #4If etkikte is 30 mill + we should be all over the nice ogc striker, surely a similar price with the same potential but he’s played more
The Dyslexic God
Jan 13, 2022 at 10:43 AM
Comment #5simon376 that immediately rules Defoe out. Dunderland are 2 leagues below us, and, although well placed, not guaranteed promotion. If that is truely the limit of his ambitions,,,,,,,
ShaytoStay
Jan 13, 2022 at 10:44 AM
Comment #6What we have now is a team like Watford worried about sitting back with wood and trippier occupying them. If they push forward we have st max torturing them. I like it. With us fans fully behind them this weekend is looking good
TheTinman
Jan 13, 2022 at 10:45 AM
Comment #7Scattermosh, don’t understand the negativity. He’s our player now and he will be starting in the biggest game of our season.
Would you have rather started Eric Ben Mthabisi who scored 15 goals in Ligue 1 last year who doesn’t speak a word of English?
Literally everybody in our team knows who Chris Wood is and knows his game. Coaching some intricate passing and movement to cut teams open through the middle takes time. Getting men wide and putting balls into the box is another. Very easy to adapt to that style of play.
TheTinman
Jan 13, 2022 at 10:45 AM
Comment #8I thought about Defoe too and I do like the idea of that sort of player. But then I seen he is almost 40.
I’d bring in Ighalo as cover.
scott
Jan 13, 2022 at 10:46 AM
Comment #9TDG from previous
It certainly is a toon dog, it’s bloody nuts! 🙂 🙂
TheTinman
Jan 13, 2022 at 10:47 AM
Comment #10Do we think what takes them the extra day is making the little bit of cartoon art??
Just kidding, but obviously they want to do loads of media and things with the players on the day of their medical. Then announce it the next day and release snippets throughout.
There’s a clear media and social media strategy at the club now. Nice to see.
Vask
Jan 13, 2022 at 10:48 AM
Comment #11Repost
I understand that wood is seen as a bit of a target man and that he gets on the end of crosses but how many of his 50PL goals were actually scored from crosses? I counted 17 from crosses in open play. Watching all of his goals he is not as one dimensional as some are making out.
Looking more and more like a very astute piece of business.
Exciting times even though it’s not exactly who we thought we’d bring in.
Adamn_92
Jan 13, 2022 at 10:49 AM
Comment #12Was looking for a video that shows all of a players touches/contributions in a game, but couldn’t find one for Wood.
Here is our win against Burnley this season from the Burnley channel:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwdfitF6wpM
Not much to go by in this video as Burnley were very very poor against us. But you can see a cross 12 seconds in which Wood has no chance with as he opts for the near post run and is goes sailing over him to the back post. Then he positions himself in a great position for a cross at 20 seconds, hand in the air shouting for it, but Gudmonsson opts for the shot from a tight angle instead. So again overlooked but is in the right areas.
Their next attack you can see he is in a different kind of role as he’s just outside the area, likely asked to sit a bit deeper to link play and allow Cornet to be furthest forward. Eventually it’s crossed in, again over him and instead opting to aim for Cornet.
1:35 in you can see again he’s a bit deeper and in a link up play role, which eventually see’s him showing quick feet and moving the ball on fast and smartly which leads to Burnley scoring, which ultimately is correctly ruled out for offside.
It’s only a very small look but shows that the service isn’t necessarily great at Burnley, he’s been tasked with a different role to accommodate for Cornet and his link up play is good which will help us out.
ShaytoStay
Jan 13, 2022 at 10:52 AM
Comment #13Adamn_92 Fair play for getting that out. I just remember watching him against us and every time he had the ball I was worried, I think he scored a volley but I could be wrong. Anyway his strength and control looked better than what I expected
Lord Scattermorecash
Jan 13, 2022 at 10:53 AM
Comment #14Tinman and everyone else on here that’s missing my point
I am not being negative about Wood.
Why does everyone think that simply by having Wood in the team instead of Wilson…and nothing else changes, we will of a sudden create more chances and cross the ball more to create the ammo for Wood to get the goals we so desperately need?
The solution is not Wood on his own..he’s part of a jigsaw…the other part of the jigsaw is a midfield stopper and a midfielder like Ramsey who will change the way we deliver the ball into the box.
If we don’t change our forward movement, we won’t get more crosses in (whether on the ground or in the air) and we won’t be making those defence splitting passes that all the top teams do on a regular basis.
I hope that’s clearer.
Onwards and upwards
Sheikh rattle and bank roll
martoon
Jan 13, 2022 at 10:56 AM
Comment #15TheTinman @10 – I’m not sure of the exact reason but there seems to be a clear strategy to announce new players first thing in the morning rather than late in the evening. Maybe it’s by the time they’ve done all the photo shoots and media or maybe they think morning announcements get more attention – I’m not sure?
SuperShearer
Jan 13, 2022 at 10:57 AM
Comment #16End of the day, Wood is now a Newcastle player – I would argue he’s an upgrade on what we have – ie. Gayle! Other than Wilson and Gayle we do not have a recognised striker – Joelinton has been converted to a midfielder and looks solid in that position.
I hope Wood shows for the rest of the season that he was absolutely worth the punt and so all those pundits will have to eat their own words. COME ON THE TOON!
Massive game this weekend and Wood straight into the lineup will have the place buzzing.
ShaytoStay
Jan 13, 2022 at 10:59 AM
Comment #17Just watched his volley against us and then a header against us, I’m depressed now. Still he can score. At this moment in time we need him but I do see some potential with Wilson when back. If we get another speedy skilful striker then wow.
Still we now need that cb and dm a a minimum
ShaytoStay
Jan 13, 2022 at 11:00 AM
Comment #18What I’d like to see if some long distance power shots from wood and st max etc running in off the save
martoon
Jan 13, 2022 at 11:00 AM
Comment #19Sparkie/Scattermorecash @14 – I understand what you are saying but surely with Wilson injured we are better with a striker like Wood than without that was ably demonstrated against Cambridge. Yes we are not going to have defence spitting passes like Man City yet but against the likes of Watford he gives us a much better chance!
TheTinman
Jan 13, 2022 at 11:01 AM
Comment #20You’re backtracking on what you’ve said over the last couple of days then. Because you were being negative on Wood.
Everyone knows we could do with a CM and a CB at least. But you can’t sign them all at once.
Tripper will help improve ball retention and Wood is better at holding the ball up than Wilson, so our transitional play will almost certainly improve.
You’ve been talking all morning about not getting enough crosses in and now you’re talking about defence splitting passes. Which do you want?
Our midfield was more than capable of controlling Watford away last time. We now have Joe in there who, excuse the turn of phrase, is like a new signing. Winning the ball back and retaining it in the midfield and that’s been against some of the top sides.
We’re in a better position than we were last time we faced them and I’d argue they’re in a worse one.
Mund
Jan 13, 2022 at 11:02 AM
Comment #21Simple question is does Wood improve us?
Yes he does.
Court adjourned
TheTinman
Jan 13, 2022 at 11:04 AM
Comment #22Martoon, I’m not entirely sure either. But they will know their media traffic etc. So it does seem like they have a strategy in place which is nice.
I’m sure if the signing was happening today/tomorrow we would see it rushed through.
ShaytoStay
Jan 13, 2022 at 11:04 AM
Comment #23Exactly Mund
ShaytoStay
Jan 13, 2022 at 11:05 AM
Comment #24We all know who we’d love in cm, cb etc. Based on Cambridge we were missing a cf the most and there is no doubting he is a premier league player with specific qualities.
TheTinman
Jan 13, 2022 at 11:08 AM
Comment #25Now now Mund, don’t try and undermine fair debate and discussion 🙂
Romford mag
Jan 13, 2022 at 11:08 AM
Comment #26More of the interview
https://www.nufc.co.uk/nufc-tv/latest-videos/chris-wood-the-first-interview/
coming home
Jan 13, 2022 at 11:09 AM
Comment #27All 50 wood goals
https://youtu.be/MozRz5tGYtM
Bills Son Is Back
Jan 13, 2022 at 11:11 AM
Comment #28Lord Scatter
The difference with Wood is that our long hoofs from Dubs and the defenders – which we still play a good few of – are usually lost because Wilson lacks the extra inches to win the ball against taller CB’s.
If you watched a rerun of our games for the whole season I would guess that 80%+ of punts concede possession straight back to the oppo. Seeing as we really struggle to win the ball back that is a big reason why- despite trying to play a more offensive passing style – we still struggle to dominate possession.
If Wood can win 50% of those punts and bring other players into play so that we keep possession that could have a big effect on our game.
The other point is that most of our current defenders are woeful at passing the ball under pressure and we keep playing ourselves into trouble trying to do that – we’ve conceded a good few daft goals giving away possession in and around our box. Having Wood means we can hoof it with a fair chance we’ll keep possession instead of Howe asking defenders to pass when they aren’t up to it.
If we end up playing more hoof ball and it gets results I couldn’t give two figs.
Howe’s attempt at a more passing offensive game have resulted in one lucky win and a shed load of goals conceded.
As the saying goes…
If you keep doing the same thing and expect different results it’s the first sign on lunacy.
We need a different option up front.
Wood gives us that and for that reason he is an excellent signing.
SuperShearer
Jan 13, 2022 at 11:11 AM
Comment #29I guess the thing that cracks me up is that as fans – and I mean all of us – we sometimes think we know more than someone like Eddie Howe, who has literally spent his life studying the game, being in training sessions, knowing what works, knowing what doesn’t.
Of course any new signing can be a gamble, injuries, wrong personality for the team, downs tools now they are on more money etc – but have a little faith in the people doing these deals, it’s not a Mike Ashley transfer, if it was guess what…. he’d still be at Burnley and we’d be looking to loan a player from the Championship!
cleveleysbob
Jan 13, 2022 at 11:12 AM
Comment #30He’ll worry and occupy defenders, thus creating more space for other players.
Something that was clearly lacking against Cambridge.
This is a strong positive move that will help us convert more chances throughout the forward line not just from Wood.
Lord Scattermorecash
Jan 13, 2022 at 11:20 AM
Comment #31Mund…yes he improves us…we needed a better replacement for Wilson than Gayle.
But how does that alone change the mechanism of delivery so Wood can get on the end of something to score?
DubaiMicky
Jan 13, 2022 at 11:20 AM
Comment #32Well we now have 24 hours or so to agree a figure, get a medical, sign a player and register him in time for Watford…..
I’ll be impressed if we can.
webbonufc
Jan 13, 2022 at 11:22 AM
Comment #33Tinman
He’s another Sheringham, he’ll play till he’s 45. He doesn’t need pace he’s clever with positioning and movement and he finishes unlike Gayle. He’ll teach our current crop and the young ones coming through. No brained signing for me and he’ll bag 5-10 goals from nothing that we haven’t got now. Get him in Eddie!
hibbit
Jan 13, 2022 at 11:25 AM
Comment #34i think it’s that’s press that’s hyping up the Wood fee, to make us look like we’re over paying, i think it’s closer to £15m which makes it a very cleaver bit of business just like Trippier deal when the truth came out !!!
TheTinman
Jan 13, 2022 at 11:25 AM
Comment #35Agree Bill’s. You’ve been on form recently.
Im off I’ve already wasted too much of the work day on here!
Hopefully one through the door but it’s not essential. Have a good un all
Pottsclock
Jan 13, 2022 at 11:28 AM
Comment #36Sounds as if Hendrick had some role in persuading him to come. Shame really because if we do sign a midfielder in this window it will probably Hendrick who is the first to make way for him.
Lord Scatterbrain
Jan 13, 2022 at 11:30 AM
Comment #37Using Mund’s analogy I guess we can adjourn court for further argument until Saturday at 5.00pm.
We’ll soon see if Wood alone does make any difference and if we do score how it comes about…not that I care in all honesty…so long as we score and win I don’t give a fcuk!
Proof I guess is always in the pudding.
Onwards and Upwards
Sheikh rattle and bank roll
Adamn_92
Jan 13, 2022 at 11:30 AM
Comment #38Lord S
Wood signing doesn’t mean our attack will suddenly transform and create extra crosses for Wood, that is focusing too much on the ‘Cross to Wood and Wood will score’ idea again. That being said, we have a world class crosser in Trippier so he probably will get better service anyway….
Wood signing improves our attack because he can hold the ball up far better than anyone else at the club. Meaning, the rest of our team can move up the pitch which relieves pressure on us and puts pressure on the opposition. He occupies defenders creating more space and causes panic among opposition defence.
He also doesn’t score all of his goals from crosses, so we don’t need to suddenly produce a million crosses to get goals out of him. He is very capable with his feet. He provides us with a focal point up top which benefits the entire team and gives us different options that we’ve been lacking.
Don’t focus on the idea that we need to suddenly create a million crosses just to see the benefit of having Wood in the team. He improves us even without crosses and will get goals not from crosses too, like he has done his whole career.
martoon
Jan 13, 2022 at 11:32 AM
Comment #39As Bills Son says Wood will hopefully make something out of some of our punts up field. The next thing we need to sort out is throw-ins. I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say we must lose possession of about 90% of throw-ins in the opposition half. It drives me mad and we must be able to improve this with a bit of coaching and practice!
The Dyslexic God
Jan 13, 2022 at 11:33 AM
Comment #40Mund, I believe you mean case struck out