Nottingham Forest player still likely a favourite at Millwall for his loan antics: View | OneFootball

Highlights

Chris Wood has enjoyed spells at plenty of English clubs since arriving in this country as a West Brom player in 2009 from Waikato FC.

Now 32, Wood plays for Premier League side Nottingham Forest, and he is a physical presence up top and has been a prolific goalscorer at both Championship and Premier League level.

After joining the Baggies, Wood made his way up through the ranks of Albion's academy side, leading to a call-up to the club's reserve side. It was here that Wood impressed, and he signed a professional deal with the club at the end of the 2008/09 season.

Wood actually made his Premier League debut for the Baggies in April 2009, becoming the fifth New Zealander to play in the league. The Baggies were relegated to the Championship for the 2009/10 season before winning promotion back to the Premier League at the first attempt.

With West Brom in the Premier League, Wood found game time hard to come by and was sent out on loan to a number of clubs.

He had loan spells at Barnsley, Brighton, Birmingham City and Bristol City before earning a move to The Den with Millwall in September 2012.

Chris Wood's spell on loan at Millwall

Wood joined the London club on an initial two-month loan on 17th September 2012, making his debut from the bench against Cardiff City the following day.

The target man would make his first start for the club the following weekend, playing the full 90 minutes and scoring against his former loan side Brighton.

During his time at the club, Wood performed extremely well, becoming a favourite amongst the Millwall faithful as the club battled to remain in the division.

Wood enjoyed a fruitful October, scoring five goals in just three games thanks to braces in consecutive games against Birmingham and Huddersfield, and a goal against Nottingham Forest.

In November, he saw his two-month loan extended to January, such was the impact he'd made at The Den. In total, Wood scored 11 Championship goals in just 19 appearances for a club who were struggling in the lower echelons of the table before being recalled by parent club West Brom in December.

The Baggies announced at the end of December that they'd accepted permanent offers from Millwall and Leicester City for the striker, but unfortunately for Millwall fans, he chose the latter.

This meant that Wood ended his time with the club on a somewhat sour note, but Millwall fans will always be appreciative for what the striker did for the club. His three-month loan spell made a huge difference to the club and helped to keep them in the Championship that season.

Chris Wood's career after leaving Millwall

Wood's career went from strength-to-strength after leaving Millwall, earning a permanent move to Leicester, which kick-started his career.

He'd spent two years in the East Midlands with the Foxes before earning a move to Leeds United. Wood was fantastic for the Whites in the Championship, performing so well that he earned a move to the Premier League with Burnley in 2017.

Since the move to Burnley, Wood has never looked back in terms of playing Premier League football. A successful spell at Turf Moor came to an end in January 2022 when Eddie Howe brought him to Newcastle. Wood's departure from Turf Moor had a huge impact on the Clarets, with the side suffering relegation from the Premier League that season.

Things didn't quite go to plan at Newcastle, but Wood earned a loan move to fellow Premier League side Nottingham Forest in January before signing permanently in the summer of 2023, although he has failed to find his best form for the Reds.

On the whole, Wood has had a very successful career so far, and it's fair to say the three months he spent at the Den in 2012 helped his career massively.