Last month it was suggested by Football Insider 24/7 that Leeds United might come in to loan Chris Wood for the remainder of the season to add some much-needed firepower.
Having only made the move to Newcastle in January of 2022, Chris Wood has been labelled as a “panic buy” by some fans as the Magpies paid Burnley £25m for his services.
Since his switch, Wood has scored four goals in 33 appearances – hardly a decent return on £25m when you look at it like that, but he was instrumental in keeping Newcastle in the Premier League in the second half of last season. His finishing may leave something to be desired, but he is an awkward presence up front which enabled the likes of Bruno Guimaraes to find space and score some big goals for us.
After an impressive display against Leicester where Wood found himself on the scoresheet, albeit from the penalty spot, he was given the nod to start against Leeds on New Year’s Eve, and if that was his audition to make the loan move happen, I don’t think he’s going to be getting that call.
Wood missed some gilt-edged chances in the game, showing once again the gulf in class between him and Callum Wilson.
While I certainly believe Wood’s days are numbered on Tyneside, I can’t see us letting him go in January without a replacement lined up given the injury record of Callum Wilson and Alexander Isak and right now it looks as though our recruitment efforts lie elsewhere.