Speculation is rife that Nottingham Forest may offer Chris Wood a new deal. Wood has been in top form, netting 15 goals last season and already scoring four in seven Premier League matches this season. It would be logical for the club to secure his services for a longer period of time. Even at 33 years of age in December, Wood shows no signs of slowing down and has enjoyed a fruitful time since his move from Newcastle United after a short stay at St James’ Park.
As the New Zealand international captain, Wood harbors ambitions to represent his country in two more World Cups. Having been part of the 2010 squad as a teenager, he aims to lead his nation to the 2026 edition. With the Oceania federation now having a direct qualifying place to the tournament finals, New Zealand is well-positioned to qualify unless there’s a major upset. The country is likely to make it to the World Cup in the US, Canada, and Mexico in a couple of summers from now. Additionally, Wood aspires to play in the 2030 World Cup, when he will be 38 years old.
Chris Wood said, “For me, football is my life. And I do want to play as long as possible – until I can’t really. That’s the mindset and the plan at the moment. Five to six years is probably what I’m looking at. I’d love to go to 38 but that’s obviously down to a lot of things; club, national team, fitness, everything like that – it all rolls into one. Most footballers, certainly me, work in terms of cycles so obviously the next World Cup is 2026. I can’t perceive where I’m going to be (but) hopefully, I’m still playing in the Premier League. That means I can still play for the national team and keep kicking on but you never know where football takes you. You can only look across the next couple of years at the moment, but long term the plan is to play until 2030. I feel good, I feel as sharp as ever, as fit as ever. I’m ageing quite well, which is the nice thing about it. Recovery is the most important thing. Things have changed, everyone looks after their bodies, nutrition-wise, strength-wise, gym-wise so you can play as long as possible. Maybe 15-20 years ago players didn’t take care of themselves as much as possible, so that’s why you saw them dropping out of the league at 32, 33. The mentality has shifted and now you can play until you are 35 easily enough, as long as you take care of yourself and you are lucky with injuries. You are not done after 30 and people still perform. Age is just a number as long as you can still do everything on the pitch.”
Wood’s former teammate at Leicester City, Jamie Vardy, is still leading in the Premier League at the age of 37, showing that continuing to play effectively in one’s later years is possible. Clubs, including Forest, are likely to want Wood on their team if he maintains his current scoring form. Wood attributes his recent success to his manager, Nuno Espirito Santo.
Chris Wood said, “It’s faith from a manager. Everybody likes to have faith shown in them, it’s where players do their best work. I wouldn’t say he took a chance on me, but at the beginning, he put me in and it worked well for both of us. And then from now on, it’s just about trying to repay the faith that he has shown in me. I like to think we’ve got a good working relationship. He’s a great manager, he works hard and he’s worked really well for me so far.”
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