Newcastle United allowed Chris Wood to join Nottingham Forest on loan during the January transfer window, and that deal is now going to become permanent at the end of the season.
The striker’s move to the City Ground included a £15million obligation to buy if certain clauses were met. Sky Sports’ Keith Downie suggested that was very likely to happen, and it appears that has proven to be the case.
According to the Times, Wood only had to start three games for Nottingham Forest to secure a permanent transfer away from St James’ Park.
The 31-year-old led the line for Steve Cooper’s side against Bournemouth, Leeds and Fulham, meaning that Forest must now pay Newcastle £15million in the summer.
That will be a real boost to the Toon bank balance, and proves what a brilliant bit of business Sporting Director Dan Ashworth did.
Chris Wood’s Nottingham Forest deal was a masterstroke from Dan Ashworth
Ashworth has a brilliant knack of moving players on, and that is epitomised by the departure of Chris Wood.
It was a shock to see the New Zealander leave, but a deal absolutely made sense given what Forest proposed.
For Newcastle to get £15million for Wood is fantastic business. It makes his move to St James’ Park a bit of a bargain.
He joined from Burnley in January 2022 for £25million, with the Magpies activating his release clause. It looked like an expensive signing, but he was a needs must addition given our desperation for a Premier League proven striker.
While Wood did not score a lot of goals, he did a massive job in keeping us up last season. He led the press and defended from the front, while players around him got the all important goals.
He had an important role this season too, given Callum Wilson and Alexander Isak’s respective injuries.
But it was decided in January that it was time to move on, and Newcastle got a brilliant deal. With Wood leaving for £15million, it effectively means that he only cost us £10million. Given what he offered during his year on Tyneside, he was an absolute bargain for that amount.
Hats off to Ashworth, who has proven his worth with this deal.