Burnley striker Chris Wood has been reflecting on an “extraordinary” season for him at Turf Moor while setting himself a “dream-worthy” target for the upcoming campaign.
The 28-year-old scored 14 goals for the Clarets in last season’s Premier League but now he is aiming towards the 20-goal mark, amid recent transfer speculation linking him with Newcastle and Southampton (as per Sunday Mirror via HITC).
Reflecting on his 2019/20 haul, he told New Zealand media outlet 1 News: “My highest goal tally is for me, something that’s extraordinary. Not many people seem to do that on a yearly [basis], so hopefully I can continue that and go better this year.
However, when asked about the potential to reach 20 goal next season, he stated: “That is something that would be extremely hard. That is a feat that is dream-worthy for me. You look at Harry Kane, he only got 18 this season. [Marcus] Rashford only got 17, [Raul] Jimenez, 17.
“You have to be the top players in the league to get to the 20-goal mark. Don’t get me wrong, I’m fighting for it and doing my best to get there, but it’s a long way off. Hopefully I can get there but it would be a big occasion if I did.”
Wood’s 14 goals in 2019/20 made him Burnley’s top scorer for the season, three ahead of Jay Rodriguez, and was his highest tally for a single top-flight campaign. Indeed, the New Zealand striker has only had one other season in which he had a higher tally for league goals, 27 for Leeds in the Championship in 2016/17. [via TransferMarkt]
His haul from last season was no dramatic fluke, though, as he has struck double figures in each of his last five league campaigns.
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Wood already has an ideal role model to try and emulate in his mission to crack the 20-goal barrier next term – in the most recent Premier League season, Danny Ings was the joint-second highest scorer with 22 goals, just one short of Golden Boot winner Jamie Vardy (as per TransferMarkt).
Notably, the ex-Clarets striker managed that haul not for a title-chasing or even European-contending club but for Southampton, who finished below Burnley in the table. Also, unlike Wood, the England international came from a position of relative weakness, having scored just 10 goals over the preceding four top-flight seasons.
It should please Burnley supporters to hear that Wood is striving to reach 20 goals for the season, a sure sign of his ambition to further improve upon consistently impressive scoring tallies.
That may be challenging in what isn’t a hugely prolific Clarets side – only one team in the top 12 scored fewer league goals last term – but if anyone at Turf Moor is capable of emulating Ings’ feat of 2019/20, it would seem to be their ever-reliable marksman from New Zealand.
Burnley fans, are you impressed by Wood’s ambition to hit 20 goals next season? Tell us what you think by commenting below!
