Burnley striker Chris Wood has explained his departure from Leeds United.
Burnley striker Chris Wood has told The Independent that the decision for him not to play for Leeds United against Sunderland in August was ‘out of his hands’.
After hitting 30 goals for Leeds last season, Wood was always going to attract major interest in the summer transfer window, though the Whites managed to bat away bids and start the season with the New Zealander in attack.
Wood started the season with one goal in three games, but was then left out of the Leeds side that beat Sunderland 2-0 at the Stadium of Light in August, amid suggestions that he pulled out of the squad.
Wood then left Leeds to join Burnley in a big-money deal just days later, leaving fans disgruntled as they felt the striker had forced his way out of Elland Road by refusing to play against Sunderland.
Since his move to Turf Moor, Wood has impressed in the Premier League, scoring twice in five league outings, whilst he also scored against Leeds in the recent Carabao Cup meeting between the two sides.
Whilst Wood will be hoping to kick on in the Premier League, the way he left Leeds has been hanging over him for weeks – and he has spoken about his exit in an interview with The Independent.
Wood has suggested that ‘nobody understands’ what actually happened, as Burnley’s bid for Wood was accepted on the Friday night before facing Sunderland, and it was the Clarets who asked that he wasn’t included in the squad for the game.
Wood added that they didn’t want him to upset Leeds so had him stick around until kick off against Sunderland, and he even praised Leeds owner Andrea Radrizzani for being reasonable throughout his transfer saga, and admitting that the Italian is ‘a good man’.
“Nobody understands that the bid Burnley put in was subject to me not playing against Sunderland,” said Wood. “And everybody thinks that I refused to play. But it was out of my hands. The bid went in at 3pm on the Friday and got accepted at 5pm on the Friday. It was completely out of my hands whether I played or not. Burnley took that out of the equation, because they didn’t want the worst to happen. They said they’d like me to stay there so it doesn’t upset the team, they could focus on the Sunderland game, without people from the outside world thinking why they had got rid of a player the day before the game.”
“They just wanted everybody to focus on the game. That is why they wouldn’t let me leave the hotel until the game kicked off, so there was no distraction. Throughout this whole process Andrea was fantastic, he always said we can come up with a deal if that is what you would like to do, and it is the best opportunity for you. If you want to make that move to the Premier League, we will come to sort of arrangement. He thanked me for my services, and I hope he does well, he’s a good man. He just needed his team to look good and not be the villain in this case,” he added.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
