The True Value of Chris Wood
A Chris Wood sort of player is priceless to a team in the Championship.
It would be naïve for us to not expect speculation on interest in Chris Wood to surface. Wood’s scoring form throughout the season was always going to attract attention from various Premier League teams. Wood seems to have expressed a desire to stay at Elland Road, but money talks and, with a reported £20 million being suggested as a possible fee for the New Zealand captain, the chance of him leaving Leeds United does become a genuine possibility.
However, he still has two years to run on his current deal and seems more fully integrated with the team than he has since his arrival, so the deal will have to be right in order for him to want to make the move.
The value of a 30-goal-a-season striker to a team is obviously immense, and in Leeds case last season, that was no different. Without Chris Wood scoring for fun throughout the campaign, the 2016/17 season would have been a very different type of dream. So, for how much £20 million seems a lot on paper for a Championship striker, Chris Wood’s value to Leeds United is much more than that.
Every successful team has a plethora of talent within their ranks, but within that talent pool you always will see a goal scoring attacker. The idea of goals winning games is fact, and Chris Wood has shown he possesses the talent to continue to score within the Championship. Expectation is always high at the club, but the performances throughout last season have now validated the expectation.
A successful season is a must in 2017/18, and Chris Wood will need to be here to be a part of that.
Furthermore, we are all now expecting recruitment and growth at the club, and for Mr. Andrea Radrizzani to make the decision to sell our main on-field asset after our main off-field asset left (Monk)… well, that would cause discontent between the club and the fans. If we don’t succeed in achieving promotion next May, then the club will likely thank Wood for all his hard work over the years and leave on good terms.
Wood’s involvement will also play a part in attracting players to the club. In all aspects of the midfield, Leeds need to improve, and for a creative midfielder looking at the club, they will want to see that their flair and ability will blend well within the side, that they see a striker they can work with to achieve greatness.
At times throughout last season, Wood was starved of decent service and still was able to score 30 goals. Could you imagine what Wood and the club would have achieved with a constant creative presence feeding Wood for 90 minutes?
Over the last few weeks, I have had numerous discussions with Leeds fans about the true value of Chris Wood. Along with many other factors, I believe someone with the goal scoring ability of Chris Wood is priceless. £20 million would not balance the loss of a man who scored 44% of our league goals last season and took us to heights we never would have expected last August. MOT.
