All Whites skipper Chris Wood is the deadliest finisher of headed goals currently playing in the English Premier League — and that’s a fact.
His latest headed goal, for Nottingham Forest against Bournemouth, was the New Zealand international’s 21st in the EPL, more than any other player still active in the competition.
And of all players still currently playing top-level football, he’s second behind only England star Harry Kane on the list of aerial EPL goalgetters.
The New Zealander’s latest headed goal came in Nottingham Forest’s 2-3 loss to Bournemouth on Sunday December 24 (NZT), when he powered the ball into the net from a corner.
Wood (32) has scored 59 EPL goals in total, for Leicester City (1), Burnley (49), Newcastle United (4) and current club Nottingham Forest (7).
Wood’s previous goal, a header against Luton Town on October 21, 2023, took him one goal ahead of Everton’s Dominic Calvert-Lewin on the list of aerial champions.
Kane (30) scored 41 goals with his head for Tottenham Hotspur before this season’s transfer to German club Bayern Munich.
Wood is 10th on the EPL’s all-time list of scorer of headed goals.
Watch Chris Wood’s latest headed goal
Wood’s post-match reaction
Wood was named in Forest’s starting line-up by new manager Nuno Espirito Santo, after a string of appearances off the bench for previous manager Steve Cooper.
Forest, who were reduced to 10 men after the first-half sending off of defender Willy Boly, slipped to 17th place on the EPL table, only two points above the relegation zone.
After the game, Wood told Sky Sports: “When you go down to 10 you have to fight and do things that’s not in the game plan.
“We did well to get in the game, unfortunately conceded some goals but fought to get in the game. At 2-2 you can’t concede you have to be resilient. It’s a hammer blow; it’s tough to take.”
Of Boly’s sending-off, Wood said: “I haven’t seen it back but I thought it was quite harsh at the time. I think the referee has to have a look at it but there’s a few incidents I want to see back because some big ones swung against us.”
Of the club’s new manager, Wood said: “You have to take on what the new manager wants
“We want to progress and get better. We weren’t perfect but we know he has good ideas to get this team better, more positive and winning games.”