Nottingham Forest have bolstered their attacking ranks with the addition of Chris Wood on loan from Newcastle United.
The striker has become the club’s third addition of the January transfer window and registered in time to play for the Reds against Bournemouth on Saturday. But it remains to be seen whether he features for the visitors at the Vitality Stadium.
Wood has barely had time to train with any of his new teammates, so it seems unlikely head coach Steve Cooper will throw him straight into the first XI. But if he doesn’t get any minutes, either in the starting line-up or from off the bench, he will have a while to wait before he does make his debut.
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After taking on the Cherries, next up for Forest is a two-legged Carabao Cup semi-final against Manchester United. However, Wood has already featured for the Magpies in the competition, meaning he is cup-tied for those two games. League Cup rules state a player cannot feature for more than one club in the tournament in any one season.
That means, should he not play this weekend, the forward would have to wait until the clash with Leeds United on Sunday, February 5 to make his first appearance in the Garibaldi. The ties against United take place next Wednesday (January 25) at the City Ground and at Old Trafford a week later, on February 1. The Reds are without a match on the weekend of January 28/29 due to being out of the FA Cup.
Wood’s parent club are also still in the Carabao Cup. They face Southampton in the other semi-final. He scored one of his three goals for Newcastle this term as they beat Tranmere Rovers 2-1 in the tournament, back in August. He also featured in their ties against Crystal Palace and Bournemouth.
The New Zealand international, who has been handed the number 39 shirt, will spend the second half of the campaign Trentside. The deal includes an obligation to buy in the summer, for a fee said to be in the region of £15 million, which will come into effect if certain clauses are met - likely to include the club avoiding relegation. If a permanent contract is activated, it would run until the summer of 2024.
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