‘Not just goals’ - Key quality Chris Wood adds to Nottingham Forest’s Premier League survival bid explained by Reds legend Stan Collymore

Wood made history last season when becoming Forest’s all-time leading goalscorer in the Premier League. He found the target on 20 occasions - and now has 37 in total - as the Reds, under the guidance of Nuno Espirito Santo, secured qualification for European competition following a 30-year absence from that stage.

He started the current campaign in positive fashion - bagging a brace on the opening day - but picked up a knock while on international duty in October that kept him sidelined for the best part of six months.

Forest have struggled for an attacking spark without their veteran frontman - with Wood still the last Reds striker to register a Premier League goal at the City Ground this season - but can finish the campaign with a flourish as they scrap for top-flight safety and Europa League glory.

Wood was handed a starting berth in the first leg of a continental quarter-final clash with Porto on April 9, before stepping off the bench in a domestic clash with Aston Villa. There is the promise of more to come from the experienced 34-year-old as he rebuilds full match fitness and sharpness.

Forest fans are understandably delighted to have Wood back - as they work under their fourth manager of the 2025-26 campaign - and know that he has plenty to play for as domestic commitments are complemented by international ambition.

Speaking exclusively to GOAL in association with Best Betting Bonuses, Reds legend Collymore said when asked why Wood is so important to Vitor Pereira’s cause: “I think the most important thing is that when you're looking at a centre-forward, an old-school centre-forward, it's not just the goals they score, it's the focal point that you give to wide men to get into crossing positions, to put the ball in the box. 

“If you're a wide man at Forest - I like Igor Jesus, I don't understand actually why he hasn't scored more goals because I think he's an intuitive striker, but it's been a difficult season for him, nonetheless. 

“When wide men get into positions, I think they become less likely to put crosses into the box if they think there's somebody in there that's not going to end up finishing it. So with Woody, that's one problem solved. Wide men are going to go, if we get it into the box, we've got somebody that's proven in that position. 

“The other one is bringing other players into play, holding it up, laying it off to the likes of [Morgan] Gibbs-White that make good attacking runs. So it's a conduit for wide men, holding the ball up and then obviously goal scoring.”

Collymore added on Wood’s targets for the immediate future: “He's going to want to get two, three, four goals by the end of the season because of New Zealand. It's a good opportunity for him to get his eye in ahead of the World Cup. 

“So it's perfect timing and he gets his first full game, first time out against one of the clubs he's played for in terms of Burnley, which he'll be chomping at the bit to get out there. But yeah, absolutely crucial at this stage of the season. And the added bonus is that the World Cup's at the end of it. So he's looking to hone his skills ahead of a World Cup.”

Forest have the second leg of their Europa League showdown with Porto to come on Thursday - with that tie locked at 1-1 as it heads to the banks of the Trent - before playing host to fellow basement dwellers Burnley on Sunday.

They are sat just two places and three points above the relegation zone at present, with the hope being that Wood - who is tied to a contract through to the summer of 2027 - can be the man to quite literally fire them across the finishing line at home and abroad.