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Paying Leeds £20m for Wood would be huge gamble for top flight sides

Chris Wood of Leeds celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the Sky Bet Championship match between Leeds United and Derby County at Elland...
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Southampton, Stoke and Swansea are all interested in Chris Wood, but Leeds tell them it will cost £20m to sign him.

According to the Sun, Southampton, Stoke City and Swansea City are the three Premier League sides interested in signing Leeds United striker Chris Wood.

In response, the Whites have slapped a £20m price-tag on their top-scorer, who caught plenty of eyes last season with his 30 goals in 48 games in all competitions.

Chris Wood of Leeds celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the Sky Bet Championship match between Leeds United and Derby County at Elland Road on January 13, 2017 in Leeds,...Chris Wood of Leeds celebrates after scoring the opening goal.

That takes Wood’s overall tally for the Yorkshire club to a more than respectful 43 strikes in 85 games and from that point of view it is easy to see why top flight teams are taking note.

Yet a look a little further back in the 25-year-old’s career suggests why this could be a major gamble if the Saints, Stoke, or Swansea made a move.

Wood has played in the English top tier before, but struggled to assert himself while with Leicester City and scored just once in seven matches.

At Championship level the New Zealand international is a regular, but not outstandingly prolific, scorer with 77 in 220 appearances.

Leeds have valued Wood at £20m based partly on the fact that Middlesbrough paid £15m for Britt Assombalonga and while it is easy to see their argument, that does not mean that those interested parties should consider whether the forward is worth it extremely carefully.

Chris Wood of Leeds United celebrates scoring his second goal with Kalvin Phillips during the Sky Bet Championship match between Birmingham City and Leeds United at St Andrews (stadium) on...Chris Wood of Leeds United celebrates scoring his second goal with Kalvin Phillips.