‘He’s proved through his actions that he believes in me’ – Chris Wood explains record season  | OneFootball

In an interview with L’Équipe, Chris Wood (33) looked to explain the season he is experiencing at Nottingham Forest, which has heralded an unexpected push for a Champions League place from a team that had finished the season before in 17th.

Last year, Wood had a record year in the Premier League when he scored 14 goals for Forest, helping them to avoid a relegation scare. However, he has already surpassed that tally with 12 games left of the campaign. His 18 strikes are enough to see the club third in the table and him fourth in this season’s Premier League top scorers (1 behind Alexander Isak and Erling Haaland, and 7 behind Mohamed Salah).

When asked if the appointment of head coach Nuno Espírito Santo midway through last season was the spark behind success, he stated, “He put me in the starting line-up, then he developed a style of play that favoured my qualities. Over time, I learned that a manager can tell you what he wants, but in the end, it’s his decisions that speak the most. Nuno has proved to me through his actions that he believed in me.”

Chris Wood: “They’ve integrated perfectly into the system”

The French outlet further asked about the on-field relationship between Wood and former Manchester United winger Anthony Elanga (22). Elanga has provided Wood with 10 assists this season, and the striker was keen to show his appreciation, “He’s so good at taking out his opposite number and then finding me. We’ve developed a great partnership; he anticipates my movements and I his.”

However, Wood also noted that it’s not just Elanga and him who’ve made the Forest attack so potent, “The three attackers who most often start alongside me, Elanga, Morgan Gibbbs-White, and Callum Hudson-Odoi, give me excellent balls. They’ve integrated perfectly into the system imagined by Santo.”

Forest host Arsenal tonight in a much anticipated clash between second and third. Six points currently separate the two teams.

GFFN | Nick Hartland