West Brom will always regret selling goalscoring machine – Leeds United left laughing | OneFootball

West Brom's decision to sell Chris Wood was one they would come to regret

Fresh off the back of firing themselves back to the Premier League under Tony Mowbray, romping to the Championship title in the process, West Brom looked to add a bit of extra quality to the squad during the summer transfer window to boost their survival prospects.

In came Simon Cox for Swindon Town, Youssouf Mulumbu from PSG, and Gonzalo Jara from Chilean side Colo Colo. Together, they would be joining a squad already containing the likes of James Morrison, Graham Dorrans, and Chris Brunt, as the Baggies looked like strong favourites out of themselves, Stoke City, and Hull City to remain in the top flight among the promoted sides.

However, things didn’t exactly go to plan at the Hawthorns, as West Brom finished rock bottom of the division, and were actually the only promoted side to face the drop that season.

It was a frustrating sequence of events for the Baggies, who now had to toil with the exploits of Championship football once again, as Mowbray was replaced in the dugout by former Chelsea midfielder Roberto Di Matteo, who proved to be an inspired appointment, though his unwillingness to play one particular player may have cost the club in the future.

Chris Wood struggled for minutes during his time at West Brom

New Zealand striker Chris Wood first made the move to England with West Brom in the same summer they won promotion to the Premier League, and after a successful trial, he signed a professional contract in the Black Country at just 18 years old.

He’d make just two top-flight appearances that campaign as the Baggies were immediately relegated, though he likely wouldn’t have been too disappointed with dropping into the Championship, as the likelihood that he could earn some more minutes drastically increased.

However, Wood would make just 18 second-tier appearances the following season, scoring once but assisting five as they earned a spot back in the Premier League, where it very quickly became clear that his immediate future lay elsewhere.

The Kiwi joined Barnsley in September 2010 on an emergency loan, but after seven appearances, it was cut short, where he would then head to the South Coast to join Brighton and Hove Albion, then in League One, in January, scoring eight and assisting four in 29 league games for the Seagulls.

Newly-relegated Birmingham City, who had also just achieved Europa League football after beating Arsenal in the League Cup final, brought Wood in on loan from their Midlands rivals in the summer of 2011, where he’d score 11 and assist once in 29 games for the Blues across the league, cup, and Europe, before Bristol City took him on loan in the January, as Wood quickly toured around England.

One more loan to Millwall in the summer of 2012 saw Wood bag 11 goals and three assists in 19 Championship games for the Lions, which attracted the attention of Leicester City, who decided to part ways with a fee in the region of £1 million for the forward, ending his time at the Hawthorns, something which West Brom would surely come to regret.

Chris Wood left West Brom to join Leicester City permanently, but Leeds United laughed the most

Following his permanent exit to Leicester, Wood went on to score 20 and assist ten in 62 total games for the Foxes, and would spend a brief loan stint with Ipswich Town due to competition at the King Power Stadium, with the likes of Jamie Vardy, Leonardo Ulloa, and David Nugent vying for playing time.

Leeds United submitted a £3 million bid for Wood in the summer of 2015, which was accepted, and he would have an excellent impact upon his move to Elland Road, scoring 13 and assisting four in 36 Championship appearances in his first campaign with the club.

He’d follow that up by netting an astonishing 27 times in 44 league appearances the following year, whilst also grabbing four assists, earning a place in the EFL Championship Team of the Season, EFL Team of the Season, and the PFA Championship Team of the Year, whilst also winning Leeds’ Player of the Year and Players' Player of the Year awards.

However, this success did not go under the radar, as Premier League side Burnley sought to bring the Kiwi to Turf Moor, seeing a £12 million bid rejected by Leeds, who offered Wood a fresh three-year deal to remain at the club. The then-25-year-old turned down a new deal in Yorkshire and would force through a £15 million switch to Burnley, giving Leeds an enormous profit on what they paid for him just two years prior.

Since then, Wood has gone on to make over 200 appearances in the Premier League for the likes of Burnley, Newcastle United, and Nottingham Forest, having aged like a fine wine, with his best season to date coming at the age of 33 during the 2024/25 campaign, netting 20 top-flight goals and three assists in 36 appearances.

With how things have played out, West Brom almost certainly could have done with not selling him when they did, both financially and in terms of impact on the pitch, as Leeds were the main beneficiaries of their decision to part ways with him when they did.