This is the situation regarding Burnley’s Chris Wood amid Newcastle United interest in the former Leeds United striker

Callum Wilson’s injury has sharpened minds at St James’s Park as their need for a striker turned to desperation following Saturday’s defeat against Cambridge United and recent reports have linked Newcastle with a move for Burnley striker Chris Wood.

But with the relegation battle seemingly now a four-way race for survival, would Burnley even consider an approach from one of their biggest rivals for one of their main goal scoring threats?

Here, we profile just what type of striker Wood is and whether a move to St James’s Park could be possible this month:

What type of player is Wood?

Wood is your typical No.9. He is strong, good in the air and thrives off crosses into the box.

In 155 Premier League games, Wood has bagged 50 goals with 17 of those goals coming from headers. For comparison, Callum Wilson has 59 goals in 167 Premier League appearances.

Despite peppering the box with crosses, the Magpies failed to score against Cambridge on Saturday, but this probably wouldn’t have happened if they had someone like Wood who is very good at leading the line and getting on the end of these deliveries.

What has been said about him?

Wood joined Burnley from Leeds United in 2017 for a fee of around £15m and scored his 50th Premier League goal in November 2021.

Following this strike, Sean Dyche was full of praise for the New Zealand international, saying:

"I still think there’s more to his game, but he does have that knack of scoring a goal.

"He finds a goal for us, as well as being in the right place at the right time.

"His movement is good, and he’s got that something extra when he’s really on it, which I like.”

Could a deal for Wood be struck in January?

As Newcastle United’s new owners have found out, trying to secure deals in January can be very tough.

Their pursuit of Sven Botman has been met with strong reluctance from Lille to do a deal this month - and that seems to be a problem across the board.

Naturally, teams are reluctant to do any deal midway through a season and this will be a major hurdle for Newcastle to overcome if they are to tempt Wood away from Turf Moor.

Reports of a release clause in his contract could offer a solution to this roadblock and mean that Newcastle could negotiate directly with the player and his representatives, rather than having to strike a deal with Burnley beforehand.

Any release clause is likely to be north of the £15m that Burnley paid Leeds to secure Wood’s services.

What have supporters made of a potential move for Wood?

News of Newcastle’s interest in Wood has divided the fan base:

@durhamchris1893: Massively underated striker, he would be an excellent signing for any team

@mikejop1976: I don’t see why we’re interested in him, he’s not prolific and past his best

@andrewrex100: Chris Wood is not the worst idea as a striker. Trippier is a great crosser & we don't have anyone who can play as a target man. ASM, Fraser, Willock, Wilson could all benefit playing off his knock downs.

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