SIGNED FOR £3 MILLION, SOLD FOR £15 MILLION: Leeds’ 70-cap “handful” was a true goldmine –

 

Leeds: With a £3 million acquisition that brought in £15 million, the Whites struck gold.

On one previous star, the Elland Road business really profited.

It is fair to say that Leeds United and smart transfer deals haven’t exactly gotten along lately, with the Championship team getting burnt by their market dealing far too frequently.

The Whites famously splashed out £25 million to sign Brenden Aaronson, only to see the American move out on loan during the summer after spending only one season at Elland Road. This has been especially noticeable over the past year or so.

Equally, the Yorkshire outfit were also forced to watch last season’s top scorer, Rodrigo, depart for just £3m following the club’s return to the second tier, with the former Valencia man having initially been signed for a then club-record fee of £27m in 2020.

Those examples epitomise the club’s woes of late – whether it be investing in the wrong player or selling key men on the cheap – although that’s not to suggest that Leeds have always blundered badly in the transfer market in modern times, with there a few success stories to speak of.

One such deal that proved to be particularly fruitful for the Whites was the signing of Chris Wood back in 2015, with the New Zealand international going on to make the powers that be a sizeable profit during his brief spell at the club.

How much did Leeds pay for Chris Wood?

The 6 foot 3 marksman had begun his career for a variety of clubs back in his homeland, prior to joining West Bromwich Albion in 2009, although it was a subsequent stint at Leicester City that seemingly caught the eye of those at Elland Road.

After netting respectable hauls of nine goals for Brighton and Hove Albion and ten goals for Millwall during his numerous loan spells away from the Hawthorns, Wood’s move to the Foxes saw his form truly explode, as he plundered 20 goals and registered ten assists in 62 games in all competitions.

Having proven himself as a reliable goalscoring presence in England’s second tier, the Auckland-born powerhouse was snapped up by then Leeds boss Uwe Rosler ahead of the 2015/16 campaign, joining for a reported fee of just £3m.

The incoming asset was described as “another important piece of the jigsaw” by Rosler, who also went on to hail his new addition as “physical, strong and experienced in this league”, with Wood tipped to be the new figurehead of the club’s attacking unit.

How many goals did Chris Wood score for Leeds?

A solid, albeit far from prolific scorer during his early years in England, few could have quite expected the towering marksman to prove such a success in Yorkshire, as he took on the mantle of being the main man through the middle.

After netting 13 league goals during his debut campaign, Wood followed that up with a staggering haul of 27 Championship goals in the 2016/17 season, subsequently winning the club’s Player of the Year and Players’ Player of the Year awards.

The formidable forward appeared to have benefitted from the arrival of Garry Monk in the dugout, with the then-Leeds boss stating that he had helped the striker showcase a more “aggressive” side to his game, as he enjoyed “such a successful season”.

That clinical form was not enough to steer Leeds to promotion, however, as the Whites finished just outside the play-offs in seventh, ensuring that a top-flight move swiftly followed for Wood after registering 44 goals in just 88 games across his two years at Elland Road – an impressive 1:2 ratio that any striker would be proud of.

How much did Leeds sell Chris Wood for?

It was perhaps no surprise that clubs in the Premier League came calling for the Kiwi sensation in the summer of 2017, with Burnley eventually forking out a then club-record fee of £15m to prise the player from the second tier.

Despite the blow of losing their star man, that sale ensured that Leeds had moved the striker on for five times more than what they had paid for him just two years earlier, representing a stunning profit in such a short space of time.

Stats via Transfermarkt

As for Wood himself, that exit proved to be an astute move as he swiftly hit the ground running at Turf Moor, having more than made the most of his opportunity to thrive in the promised land that is the Premier League.

How much is Chris Wood worth now?

Impressively, the experienced hitman managed to reach double figures for league goals in each of his first four seasons for the Clarets in the top flight, including a standout haul of 14 league goals during the 2019/20 campaign.

A real “handful” for defenders in Sean Dyche’s side – as hailed by former teammate Curtis Davies – Wood’s consistent form earned him a surprise move to Newcastle United in January 2022, with the Magpies poaching him from their then-relegation rivals in the hope of avoiding the drop.

While given a real show of faith by the Tynesiders as Eddie Howe and co forked out £25m to acquire his services, the 70-cap international was something of a busted flush at St James’ Park, scoring just five goals in 39 games in all competitions prior to leaving in January.

Now at Nottingham Forest – after his initial loan move was made permanent for £15m this summer – the 31-year-old has scored just twice in 13 games for his current side, having been forced to play second fiddle to Taiwo Awoniyi through the middle.

That recent decline has ensured that Wood is now said to be worth just €5m (£4m) – according to CIES Football Observatory – with that representing a drop of £11m since leaving Elland Road six years ago.

While the £80k-per-week asset did enjoy a solid spell at Burnley under Dyche, those at Leeds can still reflect on what an astute sale it was back in 2017.