Former Leeds United defender Danny Mills believes Chris Wood will be "worried" about losing his place in the team with Callum Wilson nearing a return from injury. The New Zealand international was brought in during the January transfer window to try and plug the goal scoring gap left by Wilson's injury.
Wood penned a two-and-a-half year deal with the Magpies for a reported fee of £25million, a transfer that left many fans scratching their heads given his struggles in front of goals for Burnley this season. However, Wood has given Newcastle a completely different focal point of attack and has played an integral part in their superb nine game unbeaten streak.
The Kiwi opened his Newcastle account in the 2-1 win over Southampton, a result that was made all the more sweet given Ralph Hassenhuttl's comments over the fixture rearrangement. Sure, Wood will not be content with his goalscoring return, but Mills has a bold view of the forward.
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He told Football Insider: “He was always going to be worried about his place knowing he was a stop-gap as much as anything else. Let’s be honest, the contract he was offered was probably mind-blowing compared to what he was on at Burnley.
“Having scored three goals this season he probably thought all of his Christmases had come at once. Before they even finished the sentence he would have said ‘Yes, I’m off. The taxi is booked, I’m going’.
“He probably knew once players are fit he has to fight for a place and is unlikely to be first-choice. But he’s at a massive club, going places with a whole new set of challenges to go through.
"It’s more exciting and he’s probably happy to be in the squad every week, playing a fair amount of games. He probably thinks ‘At the stage I’m at in my career, this has been a really good move for me still’.”
