James Tarkowski, Lewis Grabban react to Nottingham Forest’s excited Chris Wood post
Chris Wood has returned to form at exactly the right time for Nottingham Forest and hit a career milestone in the process.
Forest’s push for a Champions League place next season has come unstuck in recent weeks, and Nuno Espirito Santo‘s side have won just one of their last six matches to drop from third to seventh in the table.
Sunday’s 2-2 draw with East Midlands rivals Leicester was a hammer blow as the Reds conceded a late equaliser to a side relegated several weeks ago, and leaves Forest as outsiders to finish inside the top five.
Evangelos Marinakis’ post-match confrontation with Nuno has largely overshadowed the on-field action at the City Ground, but one of Forest’s star players has shown signs that he’s back in form after a barren spell.
Chris Wood smashes 20-goal barrier at Nottingham Forest
Wood has led the line with aplomb to the Reds this season and spearheaded the attacking trio of Morgan Gibbs-White, Anthony Elanga and Callum Hudson-Odoi, and scored 18 goals in his first 25 games this term.
However, an 10-game run since late February had seen Wood notched just one goal and assist apiece, as well as miss two games with a hip issue against Manchester United and Champions League rival Aston Villa.
Since his return though, Wood has scored a clinical header at Tottenham and nodded home another superb effort with what Forest hoped would be the winner aagainst Leicester, the latter his 20th goal of the season.
| Player | Appearances | Starts | Goals | Assists | Yellow Cards |
| Chris Wood | 38 | 34 | 20 | 3 | 1 |
Wood reaches 20 Premier League goals in a single campaign for the first time in his career, and it’s only the second time he’s hit the 20-goal mark after his 27 in 44 Championship appearances for Leeds in 2016–17.
Forest posted on Instagram (12 May) to congratulate Wood’s “Premier League milestone”, and several of the New Zealander’s former team-mates added likes, such as James Tarkowski and Lewis Grabban.
New Zealand All Whites’ official account also left a comment to celebrate their national team captain, and said: “It’s what he does”, and applauded the 33-year-old.
Nottingham Forest to find Wood alternative this summer
Despite their poor run of recent form, Forest still aren’t out of the chase for a Champions League place, and if the Tricky Trees do reach Europe’s elite, Marinakis plans to spend big on reinforcements in their attack.
With Wood now 33, Forest will be on the hunt for a new striker in a bid to upgrade further this summer, and Football Insider revealed in March that Marinakis has an ambitious move for Victor Osimhen in his sights.
The Reds also failed with a club-record move for Yoane Wissa in January, and the Brentford frontman’s own form this season makes it increasingly likely that Forest will be back in the fray to sign him this summer.