Pundit Don Goodman has hailed Leeds striker Chris Wood.
Chris Wood of Leeds United celebrates scoring against Sheffield Wednesday
Pundit Don Goodman has told Sky Sports News (02/03/2017) that he thinks Chris Wood is Leeds United’s key man in their battle for promotion.
The Whites beat Sheffield Wednesday 1-0 at Elland Road last weekend, in a victory which has moved Garry Monk’s men another step closer to securing a spot in the play-offs at the end of the season.
Leeds had Chris Wood to thank for the win, as he scored the only goal of the game with a cool first-half finish, escaping Wednesday defenders to latch on to Gaetano Berardi’s cross and fire past Keiren Westwood.
The New Zealand international striker, 25, took his goal tally for the season to 23 in just 37 appearances, with 20 coming in a superb Championship campaign.
A 2015 signing from Leicester City, Wood had his critics in a 13-goals campaign last term, but is now a fan favourite at Elland Road having enjoyed a prolific season under Monk.
Wood’s importance to Leeds is underlined by the goal tallies of other players in the squad at Elland Road; the closest player to Wood’s 20 league goals is Souleymane Doukara on five, then Kyle Bartley and Pablo Hernandez on four each.
Leeds’ Chris Wood celebrates
Losing Wood to injury at this stage of the season would be a monumental blow to the Leeds side, and pundit Don Goodman has named Wood as Leeds’ most important player in the promotion run-in – more so than the likes of Robert Green, Pontus Jansson, Bartley or Kemar Roofe.
Goodman, speaking to Sky Sports News (02/03/2017), has suggested that Leeds have a chance to be play-off frontrunners if Wood is fully fit, as he is ‘clinical and ruthless; attributes Leeds having seen from a striker in ‘quite a while’.
“There is a massive reliance on him to score goals and if he stays fit he is going to give Leeds United a very good chance of not only being in the play-offs, but being very difficult to beat in the play-offs,” said Goodman. “He has been clinical and ruthless and Leeds haven’t had a player like that for quite a while,” he added.
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