Chris Wood’s 43% and 0.49 stats vs Aston Villa prove he’s now a liability at Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest crashed out of the Europa League in the semi-finals on Thursday with a terrible 4-0 defeat to Aston Villa.
The Tricky Trees were completely played off the park in Birmingham as they lost 4-1 on aggregate across the tie.
Many players were simply awful at Villa Park, but perhaps few were worse than Chris Wood.
The striker had little to no impact as Forest struggled to do anything in attack, which only damaged their chances even more against Aston Villa.
Now, it has become clear that Forest cannot trust Wood for the 2026-27 season to lead the front line.
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VISIT THE FOREST MATCH HUBChris Wood was awful vs Aston Villa
The stats in the defeat to Aston Villa are not kind to Wood.
According to Fotmob on 8 May, the striker only managed three successful passes, with a 43 per cent passing accuracy, he had just one shot, a .049 xG, he won zero per cent of his ground duels and was even dispossessed once.
| Chris Wood vs Aston Villa | |
| Minutes | 71 |
| Passing accuracy | 43% |
| Shots | 1 |
| xG | 0.49 |
| Ground duels won | 0% |
| Dispossesed | 1 |
While this was his worst performance in a long time, it has become increasingly clear that he is no longer up to standard.
Since his comeback from the sidelines, he has only found the net twice in eight matches, with the one goal being from the penalty spot.
A disappointing night, but so much to be proud of as our European journey comes to an end.
— Nottingham Forest (@NFFC) May 7, 2026
Thank you for your support along the way, Reds. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/4E5Y7ScrDc
Therefore, Forest must find a replacement for Wood in the summer transfer window as he is clearly not good enough to be effective against Premier League opposition.
If not, they could find themselves in yet another relegation battle next season, with their frontline set to be a key issue going forward.
Who are Nottingham Forest targeting for the summer transfer window?
Football Insider has exclusively revealed that Nottingham Forest are chasing Hayden Hackney.
The Middlesbrough star has shone in the Championship this season and is one of the main reasons that the club was able to qualify for the playoffs.
However, Brighton and Hove Albion are also pursuing his signature, with the club closing in on a deal for the 23-year-old.
Brighton believe they can move quickly to beat their rivals to Hackney’s signature.
Nevertheless, it remains to be seen if Forest can seal the deal, with Premier League survival likely to be crucial to any signing.