Chris Wood: Nottingham Forest striker and Erling Haaland spark traditional centre-forward revival

The revival of the traditional number nine has gathered pace.

Chris Wood is helping the big target man become fashionable again after his electric start to the season for Nottingham Forest.

The 32-year-old scored twice in the second half to help his current side beat his former one, Leicester City, on Friday and send them up to fifth in the Premier League.

Only Manchester City’s Erling Haaland [10] has scored more in the league than the seven-goal New Zealand international this season.

Since Nuno Espírito Santo’s first game in charge of Forest on 23 December, 2023, only Haaland [18] has scored more non-penalty league goals than Wood’s tally of 17.

As the pair lead the top-flight’s scoring charts, and Norwegian Haaland also a powerful physical presence up front, Wood is revelling in the return of the old-fashioned centre-forward.

“We want to try to bring it back or I’ll be out of a job,” he said. “For a period of time, the small centre-forward or the number 10 mixed role with the number nine, it kind of came into fashion.

“Thankfully Erling has come and brought it back into fashion, he has got a lot of pace and power, some things I don’t have, but it is making it easier for us number nines.”

Wood, who also scored the winner in Monday’s 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace, has moved level with Stan Collymore on 22 Premier League goals for Forest after his double at the King Power Stadium, with only Bryan Roy [24] scoring more for the club in the competition.

His first came from a neat swivel and finish two minutes into the second half before he capitalised on Wout Faes’ error to nod over a stranded Mads Hermansen on the hour.

Talk of the Golden Boot might have been fanciful at the start of the season but Wood is currently in that bracket.

He told Sky Sports: “I just want to keep scoring as many as I can. He’s [Haaland] a very formidable man and he’s probably going to score 30 goals this season.”

The former West Brom and Leeds forward also has a goal for New Zealand this term, in a 3-0 win over Tahiti.

Signed by current Leicester boss Steve Cooper for £15m in 2023 from Newcastle, after an initial loan spell, Wood has 23 goals in 51 appearances in all competitions for Forest.

Last season he scored three times in 15 games before Nuno arrived. The Portuguese boss replaced Cooper 11 months ago and Wood then netted 11 goals in 16 appearances – and is enjoying life under the former Wolves and Tottenham head coach.

“He has come in and put the emphasis on getting balls into the box, getting people into the box,” he added. “That supplies Taiwo [Awoniyi] and I extremely well. We are big centre-forwards who love deliveries, love crosses.

“That’s what we thrive off. He has worked on that on the training pitch and thankfully it has come to the fold.”