Chris Wood (footballer, born 1991)

Christopher Grant Wood (born 7 December 1991) is a New Zealand professional footballer who plays as a forward for Premier League club Nottingham Forest and captains the New Zealand national team. Widely regarded as one of New Zealand's greatest ever footballers, Wood is one of just six New Zealanders to have played in the Premier League. Wood started his senior career with Cambridge, Waikato and Hamilton Wanderers before moving to England to play for Premier League club West Bromwich Albion. He spent his time on loan at six clubs before joining Leicester City in 2013. After a loan spell with Ipswich Town in 2015, he signed for Championship club Leeds United where he became the top scorer in the 2016–17 season, with 27 goals. Wood then joined Burnley for a club record fee, and became a consistent goalscorer for them in the Premier League, notching up 49 goals in 144 matches over four and a half seasons. In January 2022 he joined Newcastle United for £25 million (€29 million), making him the most expensive Oceania player of all time. Wood also became Nottingham Forest's all-time leading Premier League goalscorer, surpassing Bryan Roy's long-standing record of 24 goals. Wood has been capped 88 times for the New Zealand national team and scored 44 goals, making him the all-time leading goalscorer for his country, and second overall (Men and Women) after Amber Hearn. He played for the team at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, and was part of the squad that won the 2016 OFC Nations Cup. During the 2024–25 Premier League season, Wood equalled his career-best goal tally by mid-January, having scored 14 goals in 22 matches. He later went on to finish the campaign with 20 Premier League goals, the first time he had reached that milestone in a single season.