Nuno Espírito Santo says £15m Nottingham Forest ace is just as ‘important’ behind the scenes

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Nottingham Forest defeated Crystal Palace 1-0 at the City Ground on Monday night to climb up to eighth in the Premier League.

The Reds huffed and puffed throughout the game and probably had the better chances to score during the first half.

Eddie Nketiah almost signed for Forest in the summer and he perhaps came closest for the visitors in the first 45 minutes.

Matz Sels was once again in fine form for Forest. He made seven saves including a brilliant stop from a long-range effort from Eberechi Eze.

Forest did manage to claim the victory, however, and as Ally McCoist pointed out, Chris Wood is in fine form for the Reds right now.

• READ MORE: What Dean Henderson did at full-time against Forest

Nuno Espirito Santo hails Forest star Chris Wood

The talisman has now scored five goals in eight matches this season and finally, this one came during a win for the Reds.

Wood’s other four goals this season have all come when Forest have drawn games and thankfully he can now call himself a match-winner this season.

Wood scored when his stinging effort proved too much for Henderson between the Palace posts and finally breached his resistance.

It’s not just his goalscoring prowess that impresses his boss though and the Forest head coach is a huge fan of his striker.

He told BBC Sport: “Chris gives us much more than the goals but we are delighted that he scores for us. He is huge for us, the way he links, the way he defends.

“His voice in the dressing room is important, the way he leads by example for the younger lads. We are very grateful for him.”

Forest have to give Wood a new deal

The summer of 2025 will see the Forest striker become a free agent and on current form, the Reds can’t let that happen.

Forest may well target a new striker in the coming transfer windows but having options to call upon is a must in the squad.

• READ MORE: Nottingham Forest have a ‘terrific’ footballer on their hands

If Wood or Taiwo Awoniyi get injured this season then Forest will likely have a problem and there is now a really good opportunity to increase the depth.

Wood is still fit and crucially, he’s still finding a way to etch his name on the score sheet for the Reds.

With that in mind, Forest should move quickly to get the player tied down and ensure that the transition when any new striker comes to the club is smoother and less pressurised.