Clarets break record to land Wood

Burnley have broken their transfer record to land Leeds United striker Chris Wood.
Chris WoodChris Wood
Chris Wood

The New Zealand international joins the Clarets, for a fee believed to be £15m, rising to £18m with add ons, on a four-year deal to become manager Sean Dyche’s sixth new signing of the summer transfer window.

Wood, 25, arrives at Turf Moor after finishing as leading scorer in the Championship last season with 27 goals for the Whites.

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He also scored on the opening day of the current season before ending a prolific two-year stay with Leeds, which brought him 44 goals in 88 games towards a career total of 101 goals in 293 club appearances.

And Wood’s move to Burnley means a long-awaited return to the Premier League following earlier brief spells in the top flight with West Bromwich Albion and Leicester City.

“My ambition has been to play in the Premier League for years,” Wood told Clarets Player HD.

“I’ve had tastes of being in there, but I’ve never had the chance to give it a proper bash.

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“Coming here I feel I’ve got a proper opportunity to do that. I’ve never started a Premier League game and this what I want to do.

“This is a club that wants to stay in the Premier League for years to come and it’s going that way.

"The squad has done fantastically over the last couple of years to put themselves in the position they are now.

“There have been some great additions this summer, which I’m sure has given everyone an added boost, to move forward and cement us as a Premier League team and looking on further up the league.

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“The manager has given me a lot of confidence and backed me to bring me here, which is what you want.

“I’ve still got a lot of good years ahead of me. I’ve got lots of ambitions to achieve in the future. I’ve got goals and dreams that I want to achieve and it starts here.”

Wood helped both West Brom and Leicester win promotion to the top tier, going up alongside Burnley in 2014 as the Foxes finished as Championship winners - scoring a stunning goal in the Foxes' 2-0 win at Turf Moor.

He also claimed a League One title-winner’s medal from a successful loan spell at Brighton during 2010/11, which came in between loan stays in the Championship with Barnsley, Birmingham, Bristol City and Millwall.

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Auckland-born Wood has scored 20 times in 52 appearances for New Zealand and, as well playing in the 2010 World Cup as an 18-year-old, became the youngest captain of the ‘All Whites’ when he led the side for the first time in November, 2014.

Wood is eligible to play for Burnley in the Carabao Cup after being an unused substitute in Leeds’ opening-round win over Port Vale and will be available for Wednesday night’s second-round tie at Blackburn Rovers.