Chris Wood

[BringBack_leGin]

Is the best our scouts can come up with Chris Wood and Josh King throughout the whole of world football? Pretty disappointing if that is the case. I’m sceptical there is much truth in the links to him though. Have a single one of the SC ITKers mentioned him as a possibility?

I think the point is that a) Jose would prefer Premier League proven strikers to unknown punts, especially with a restricted budget and a position that is mainly a bench option and b) we are trying to rebalance our non-HG bloated registrable squad.

 

[spids]

Surely Burnley would be looking 25m plus....they paid 15m for him iirc

I remember during lockdown the Burnley chairman saying that, despite being a very well run club (wages to turnover), they would run out of money by August if the season did not restart. Obviously it did, and the remainder of the TV money kicked in, but they have lost match day revenues and other incomes. It is the smaller clubs who are hurt more by Covid-19 and as such I think a player they would normally value at £25M will be worth as low as £15M in the current climate. Similar to Doherty. Similar to Hojbjerg.

Burnley warn of £50m loss due to suspension of English football

Burnley have underlined the dire financial consequences of the coronavirus crisis on the Premier League

www.theguardian.com

 

[Sweech]

Do I like Chris Wood? No, he fucking annoys me which is always a good sign, Lucas Moura did that for PSG in a pre season friendly.
If Mourinho wants his kind of player or someone to play as a target man then I am quite happy for him to be the man because what he does he does well.

Doherty was like that for me whenever we played against Wolves. So glad we signed him.

Wood is my #1 option by far of the strikers we’ve been linked with. My only worry is that Levy is going to prefer going for King because he’s on the last year of his contract and will be cheaper.

 

[Hakkz]

So Woods would make the Chelsea, United, Leicester, Arsenal, Wolves and god forbid Spurs squad?

Yes, Wood would make it as a rotation in half of those if they were interested in a target man.

Watkins wouldn't. Maybe in the Wolves squad.

 

[SuperPav10]

I was sceptical about this one. But having reminded myself of the goals he scored last year... I actually think he'll be brilliant for us. Would like to see him play alongside Kane as well. Would be good to see Wood occupying the CH's and giving Kane a bit of freedom. Much prefer Wood to King, who doesn't seem to fit the mould José's (reportedly) after: a shithouse lummox.

 

[spursfast]

I was sceptical about this one. But having reminded myself of the goals he scored last year... I actually think he'll be brilliant for us. Would like to see him play alongside Kane as well. Would be good to see Wood occupying the CH's and giving Kane a bit of freedom. Much prefer Wood to King, who doesn't seem to fit the mould José's (reportedly) after: a shithouse lummox.

but i think Wood be a big ask with Burnley...hellish

 

[Hakkz]

Apologies if it's been posted. Sounds very grounded.

 

[DannyNZ]

Never really thought I would see Chris Wood in the frame for Spurs but think he could certainly do a job for us. His scoring record at Leeds and Burnley is pretty sound and he bangs them in for NZ regularly. There is a bit more to his game than just a giant frontman and having watched him lead the NZ line since he was a youngster this guy is a solid character and a leader. As a plan b option I think he’d do a hell of a job.

 

[fishhhandaricecake]

I was sceptical about this one. But having reminded myself of the goals he scored last year... I actually think he'll be brilliant for us. Would like to see him play alongside Kane as well. Would be good to see Wood occupying the CH's and giving Kane a bit of freedom. Much prefer Wood to King, who doesn't seem to fit the mould José's (reportedly) after: a shithouse lummox.

He's a very good solid player, he's like a younger Olivier Giroud, just because he plays for Burnley and he doesn't have an exotic name don't underestimate this guy, he's always been a handful whenever we've played against them and in a better team with better players around him he'd do even better, he's another one who is in his peak/prime now, knows the league and is ready to go.

We could do far worse than this. Only issue is Lazio are in for him as well so could well be a bit pricey for us but if Burnley are in financial trouble and we can get him for a decent price then i'm all for it. Would prefer him to Wilson or King.

 

[Stoof]

My thoughts are summed up thusly:

 

[Legacy]

I watch Burnley quite often and believe that Wood is the best option of those suggested, at a potentially reasonable and realistic transfer fee.
Hard working, committed and aggressive.
Fits Mourinho mould well as an excellent target man - particularly strong in the air - who has a decent scoring record in the Premier League despite playing for a team with limited creativity.
Provides distinct and alternative attributes to our other attacking players.
Wood could stand in effectively for Kane in certain matches and provide a really good platform for Son, Maura, Alli and Bergwijn to play off - something we desperately lacked last season.
He could also complement Kane successfully as a figurehead for the attack - relieving pressure on Kane and creating space and opportunities for him.
An excellent option in my opinion!

What sin did you commit for you to have to watch Burnley often?

 

[gavspur]

Never really thought I would see Chris Wood in the frame for Spurs but Think could certainly do a job for us. His scoring record at Leeds and Burnley is pretty sound and he bangs them in for NZ regularly. There is a bit more to his game than just a giant frontman and having watched him lead the NZ line since he was a youngster this guy is a solid character and a leader. as A plan b option I think he’d do a hell of a job.

Yeah, there’s certainly more to his game than just bullying defenders. He’s a good finisher, very strong in the air, determined character, strong personality. Ticks a lot of boxes for us. He’s the type of player that will get us goals when needed, in those tight games, you pick up points in those games and it all adds up at the end of the season. He’d certainly be #1 target for our number 9 shirt for me. He’s not glamorous with a fancy name, but I bet he’d do well In this team. Especially with Doc getting down the right and putting the crosses and cut backs in.

 

[topper]

What sin did you commit for you to have to watch Burnley often?

Probably the sin of living in Burnley?

 

[spursfan77]

I think the point is that a) Jose would prefer Premier League proven strikers to unknown punts, especially with a restricted budget and a position that is mainly a bench option and b) we are trying to rebalance our non-HG bloated registrable squad.

But swapping out a better foreign player than one we currently have is an equally, if not better move.

 

[Lancaster Spur]

I like Wood, he is probably a very sensible choice for back up striker and someone who you can send on when chasing a game, probably won't cost a fortune and proven in the Premier League...

It just seems like a massive let down compared to Dybala last year. I know conditions have changed, the world is in a different place compared to last year and perhaps it's fortunate we've not got a guy earning £250k a week on the books at the moment.

Budgets and therefore expectations should be lowered a bit, but even though a signing like Wood's would make sense, it ticks all the boxes and it's one I'd support... it's still a bit 'meh'.

 

[BringBack_leGin]

But swapping out a better foreign player than one we currently have is an equally, if not better move.

In terms of our players in the final third, Sessegnon Clarke and Lamela are the only ones I imagine whose spots we’d be looking to make space with. The two kids would undoubtedly be loans out, and would have to be replaced with HG incomings. Lamela is currently better than both, so to get rid of him to replace with a non HG striker would leave us with Lucas, Dele, Son and Bergwijn as in any way reliable AM3 options, so shifting Lamela is probably unwise in this market, especially given the state if the market.

Then you have the only two players who seem to be generating any interest, Aurier and Ndombele. If it’s Aurier, with Tanganga/ Gedson providing RB cover, that’s fine. If it’s Ndombele we almost certainly need a new CM (of any style) as otherwise we’re going to see a lot of Sissoko in the pivot again, once again. We of course are now currently looking at either or both of Reguillon/ Tagliafico according to ITK, which again is a non HG slot. So once again we’re moving away from striker in terms of where we need to use non HG spaces.

Once again, this is all before we consider that if Jose can get a forward proven in this league we’d almost definitely prefer that, and if it’s HG which allows him to use non HG spaces elsewhere then even better.

The way it’s shaping up, I imagine the club’s ideal is to loan out one of Clarke and Sessegnon and give their slot to an HG striker proven in this league; sell Aurier and give his non HG slot to a left back; sell Ndombele and replace give his non HG slot to either a CM or AM.

So, if a player of the quality of Woods or King is available to us, getting them in from now makes sense as if they go elsewhere and we either don’t bring in any forward, or we bring someone who needs to start most matches to get up to speed with premier league football (which isn’t happening with any forward we get this window), we’re fucked.

 

[kent brockman]

The way it’s shaping up, I imagine the club’s ideal is to loan out one of Clarke and Sessegnon and give their slot to an HG striker proven in this league; sell Aurier and give his non HG slot to a left back; sell Ndombele and replace give his non HG slot to either a CM or AM.

Sess and Clarke are under 21 and do not take up a spot in the 25-man squad.

 

[Japhet]

I haven’t heard any of the top eight chasing Woods! Llorente never got the game time to show how he could have performed vs Woods so it is difficult to compare other than his European experience. I am so underwhelmed with the link. I would prefer to go for a younger forward like an Ollie Watson.

Wouldn't expect Mourinho to be the slightest bit interested in a player like Ollie Watson, even though I think he might become a very good player. If he does that though, it will be long after Mourinho has moved on. He's a 'here and now' manager and Watkins is one for the future.

I like Wood, he is probably a very sensible choice for back up striker and someone who you can send on when chasing a game, probably won't cost a fortune and proven in the Premier League...

It just seems like a massive let down compared to Dybala last year. I know conditions have changed, the world is in a different place compared to last year and perhaps it's fortunate we've not got a guy earning £250k a week on the books at the moment.

Budgets and therefore expectations should be lowered a bit, but even though a signing like Wood's would make sense, it ticks all the boxes and it's one I'd support... it's still a bit 'meh'.

It's the reality of where we are now. We barely scraped into the Europa League and have a massive amount of debt to service. Covid has allegedly cost us 200m all told and we don't have a Sugar Daddy to hand out cash every time we want something. We have to ignore what Chelsea, City and Utd are doing with transfers and try to plug the gaps in our squad with players we can actually afford. We have a number of star players but have lacked the depth to cover for them in the past and have also failed to replace the likes of Dembele and Wanyama. If we'd brought in Dybala last season it wouldn't surprise me one bit if we went without a single signing this window, so maybe that was a blessing in disguise.

 

[BringBack_leGin]

Sess and Clarke are under 21 and do not take up a spot in the 25-man squad.

They do as they’ve not been with us 2 years, no?

Either way, makes no difference on our maxed out non hg limit, just means we can get Wood or King without having to make space.

 

[kent brockman]

They do as they’ve not been with us 2 years, no?

Either way, makes no difference on our maxed out non hg limit, just means we can get Wood or King without having to make space.

Think U21 status is determined solely by age. Foyth qualified as that already when he joined us.