Burnley complete club-record deal for Leeds striker Wood

chris wood 2

Burnley have signed striker Chris Wood from Leeds for a club-record fee, the Premier League club have announced

The Clarets are understood to have paid £15million for the New Zealand forward, rising to £18million.

The deal tops the £13million they paid Norwich for Republic of Ireland international Robbie Brady in January.

Wood, 25, arrives at Turf Moor after finishing as leading scorer in the Championship last season with 27 goals for the Yorkshiremen.

He also scored on the opening day of the current season before ending a prolific two-year stay with Leeds, which brought him 44 goals in 88 games towards a career total of 101 goals in 293 club appearances.

And Wood’s move to Burnley for an undisclosed fee means a long-awaited return to the Premier League following earlier brief spells in the top flight with West Bromwich Albion and Leicester City.

“My ambition has been to play in the Premier League for years,” Wood told Clarets Player HD.

“I’ve had tastes of being in there but I’ve never had the chance to give it a proper bash.

“Coming here I feel I’ve got a proper opportunity to do that. I’ve never started a Premier League game and this what I want to do.

“This is a club that wants to stay in the Premier League for years to come and it’s going that way.

“The squad has done fantastically over the last couple of years to put themselves in the position they are now.

“There have been some great additions this summer, which I’m sure has given everyone an added boost, to move forward and cement us as a Premier League team and looking on further up the league.

“The manager has given me a lot of confidence and backed me to bring me here, which is what you want.

“I’ve still got a lot of good years ahead of me. I’ve got lots of ambitions to achieve in the future. I’ve got goals and dreams that I want to achieve and it starts here.”

Auckland-born Wood has scored 20 times in 52 appearances for New Zealand and, as well playing in the 2010 World Cup as an 18-year-old, became the youngest captain of the ‘All Whites’ when he led the side for the first time in November, 2014.

Wood is eligible to play for Burnley in the Carabao Cup after being an unused substitute in Leeds’ opening-round win over Port Vale and will be available for Wednesday night’s second-round tie at Blackburn Rovers.