- Nottingham Forest are in discussions with Chris Wood over a new contract
- Wood has scored ten league goals, with Forest in fourth place in the table
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Nottingham Forest are in talks with top scorer Chris Wood over a new contract to stop him leaving on a free transfer in the summer.
Wood’s 10 goals have been instrumental in lifting Nuno Espirito Santo’s team into the race for a top-four finish. Saturday’s 2-1 win over Aston Villa left them fourth, a point and a place above champions Manchester City ahead of their derby against Manchester United on Sunday.
Wood, who turned 33 on December 7, is thought to earn about £100,000 a week, placing him near the top of Forest’s pay structure. There is no blanket policy at Forest regarding the length of deals offered to players over 30, with a player’s fitness levels, status within the squad and performance.
From January 1, Wood will be able to agree terms with overseas clubs. The forward is enjoying his time at Forest and believes he can continue to play at a high level well into his thirties.
‘People are playing for much longer now,’ Wood told Mail Sport in an exclusive interview in November. They feel ripe and strong at 35, 36. It’s about mentality, nutrition. People are eating cleaner. There was a big drinking culture 15 years ago and it’s not really there anymore.
‘If you go back the 1980s and 1990s, players were out all the time – that’s just how it was. Maybe that’s why people retired at 32, 33. People still say ‘once you’re 30, you’re over the hill’, but it’s just not the case.
Nottingham Forest are in talks with top scorer Chris Wood over a new contract
Wood’s goals have been key in lifting Nuno Espirito Santo’s team into the top-four race
‘Look at Jamie Vardy at 37, Robert Lewandowski at 36, Cristiano Ronaldo at 39. I feel my best years are still ahead of me. I’m not thinking about stopping at time soon.
‘The Golden Boot would be lovely. I’d look at it come March or April if I’m still in the running, though we have Erling Haaland and Mohamed Salah who have run away with it in the past.’
Villa have not won away in the league for nearly two months after they fell apart late on at the City Ground, though boss Unai Emery refused to use fatigue as an excuse after his side were involved in a high-intensity Champions League fixture at RB Leipzig last week, though his team have won only one of their six games that have followed European fixtures this season.
Villa boss Unai Emery refused to use fatigue as an excuse for his team’s defeat to Forest
Villa hope to recover Tyrone Mings from illness for their meeting with Manchester City on Saturday though Emery has his work cut out to manage the delicate dynamic between Ollie Watkins and Jhon Duran.
Duran was named in the starting XI for the second league game in a row and responded with a goal, as he did in last Saturday’s win over Southampton. The Colombian has 11 goals this season to Watkins’ seven and Emery has been reluctant to start both.
