Burnley striker Chris Wood is subject to the interest of plenty of Premier League clubs following an impressive stint at Burnley since he joined the Clarets are the start of the 2017/18 season. The New Zealand international has scored 50 and made nine assists in 144 matches for the Clarets, including 12 in the league last time out in 33 appearances, despite the Clarets only hitting the back of the net 33 times.
West Ham United are the favourites to try and sign the former Leeds striker, as the Hammers are looking to strengthen their squad following qualification for the Europa League in the upcoming 2021/22 season.
Last January, the Hammers sold Sebastien Haller to Ajax, meaning that Michail Antonio is their only natural striking option at present. The former Nottingham Forest forward did well last time out, scoring 10 goals in 26 matches in the English top-flight, but, as his appearances figure suggests, the 31-year-old is rather prone to injury, meaning that the Irons ideally need more depth in this area.
Wood would give David Moyes’ team a useful target man who can hold up the ball well and bring others in to play, as he does at Burnley and would provide a good areal threat for the Irons who tend to utilise the flanks when they opt for a 5-2-3 and even a 4-2-3-1 formation.
Everton are the next team on this list of clubs that are rumoured to be interested in Wood, following the departure of Josh King on a free transfer to Watford.
With the Toffees only really having one natural striker in their ranks at present with Moise Kean expected to leave the club for PSG, their reliance on Dominic Calvert-Lewin for goals has been relatively heavy, as the 24-year-old Sheffield born striker finished as the sixth top scorer in the Premier League last campaign, with 16 goals to his name.
As mentioned above, Wood managed 12 and is a similar kind of striker to Calvert-Lewin due to his physical traits of being able to hold up the ball and being a good finisher with both his feet and head.
Southampton have also been linked with Wood, as Ralph Hassenhuttl is looking to provide his side with a different striking option.
The Saints striking options currently line up as Danny Ings, Che Adams, Michael Obafemi and The Walcott, although the latter is often deployed as a winger, whilst Obafemi only played 57 minutes worth of league football last campaign.
Ings only has 12 months left on his contract at St Mary’s and is reportedly looking to move on as the 28-year-old is looking for a new challenge, with the likes of Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham all being linked, following a great stint at the south coast club, managing 46 goals and 10 assists in 100 appearances.
The signing of Wood would very much bring in a guaranteed income of goals and could also help those around him such as Adams flourish, as he would effectively help the former Birmingham man get into the game more rather than being an out and out poacher like Ings.
Wood is priced at 16/1 to sign for the Saints for the upcoming 2021/22 campaign.
The final club on this list of sides that are interested in Wood is Aston Villa, as they alike Everton and West Ham are reliant on the fitness of Ollie Watkins, as the former Brentford man is integral to their style of play.
At present, the Villains have the likes of Wesley and Keinan Davis as their backup options, of which neither have particularly set the world alight in their times at Villa Park. Brazilian striker Wesley has had a torrid time with injuries, following a cruciate knee ligament rupture on New Year’s Day in 2020, seeing him play just 15 minutes of league football since. Prior to this, the 24-year-old had scored five in 21 league matches.
Meanwhile, Davis has scored six goals in 85 appearances for the Villains, with Dean Smith playing the 23-year-old for just 263 minutes of Villa’s Premier League season, with one of these being a start in a 0-0 draw with Everton on 13th May, following the suspension of Watkins against United for two yellow cards.
Wood is priced at 18/1 to trade the claret colours of Burnley for that of Villa this summer.