Chris Wood takes subtle dig at Steve Cooper as he shares how Nuno made him better at Nottingham Forest

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Chris Wood has been a man on a mission so far this season and with 16 games to go he’s already equalled his goal tally from last season.

Wood has been given a new nickname by Shay Given this season. He’s been very much an integral part of the Forest team under Nuno Espirito Santo and other pundits have been surprised by his impact.

Eddie Howe didn’t want Wood to leave Newcastle when Forest signed him. The Reds parted with £15 million to sign him in January 2023 with Steve Cooper keen to add another striker.

The move wasn’t overly popular. Wood was already in his thirties and the fan base would have preferred someone a little bit younger with more resale value adding to the ranks.

However, he’s proved them all wrong and now, Wood has been discussing what he believes was the moment his Forest career performed an upward trajectory.

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Chris Wood makes subtle dig at Steve Cooper

It’s fair to say that Wood wasn’t getting much of a look in under Cooper. Despite being the Forest head coach who signed him, it wasn’t until Nuno Espirito Santo came to the club that he started to really become a regular.

Wood has bemoaned a lack of game time under the former manager – without naming him – and it seems clear that he enjoys operating under Espirito Santo more than he did his predecessor.

He told Optus Sport: “I would say my fortunes changed a bit when the new manager came in. I got more game time and the team – I wouldn’t say it was built around me – but a team was built that can enhance my performances and play to my strengths in that sense. That started last season when the manager came in.”

Wood has been one of the top scorers in the country since Espirito Santo came to the club. Last week, he was tied down to a new two-year contract and Forest fans can look forward to him being on Trentside for a little bit longer.

Chris Wood becomes Forest all-time Premier League top goalscorer

This season’s goal haul has seen Wood eclipse Bryan Roy at the top of the goalscoring charts when it comes to goals scored just in Premier League games.

Alan Shearer has been complimentary about Wood – and it’s fair to say that the man with 260 Premier League goals to his name knows a thing or two about finding the back of the net.

Wood now has 29 Premier League goals for Forest, with Roy scoring 24 and Stan Collymore in third place with 22 goals for the Reds in the division.

The 33-year-old is getting closer to 100 goals in the Premier League and he will hope to keep scoring and reach that milestone before the 2024/25 campaign is out.