Chris Wood, New Zealand footballer: Profile, Career, News & Videos

Chris Wood is a New Zealand professional footballer who plays as a forward for Premier League club Nottingham Forest and captains the New Zealand national team. Widely regarded as the greatest ever footballer to come out of New Zealand, Wood is one of just six New Zealanders to have played in the Premier League.

Wood started his senior career with Cambridge, Waikato and Hamilton Wanderers before moving to England to play for Premier League club West Bromwich Albion. He spent his time on loan at six clubs before joining Leicester City in 2013. After a loan spell with Ipswich Town in 2015, he signed for Championship club Leeds United, where he became the top scorer in the 2016–17 season, with 27 goals. Wood then joined Burnley for a club record fee, and became a consistent goalscorer for them in the Premier League, notching up 49 goals in 144 matches over four and a half seasons. In January 2022, he joined Newcastle United for £25 million (€29 million), making him the most expensive Oceania player of all time.

After joining Nottingham Forest in 2023, Wood went on to become the club's all-time leading Premier League goalscorer, surpassing Bryan Roy's long-standing record of 24 goals. During the 2024–25 Premier League season, Wood equalled his career-best goal tally by mid-January, having scored 14 goals in 22 matches. He later went on to finish the campaign with 20 Premier League goals, the first time he had reached that milestone in a single season.

Wood has earned over 90 caps for the New Zealand national team, making him the country's record appearance holder, while his 45 international goals also make him their all-time leading goalscorer. He ranks second among all New Zealand internationals, male or female, for international goals, behind only Amber Hearn. Wood represented New Zealand at the FIFA World Cup in 2010 and 2026, and was a member of the squad that won the 2016 OFC Nations Cup.