Schoolboy Error: Dream Team bosses eagerly recruiting hat-trick hero Chris Wood ahead of FA Cup weekend

GAMEWEEK 22 belongs to Chris Wood (£4m).

Nottingham Forest’s No11 bagged a hat-trick against Brighton on Saturday in what proved to be the centrepiece of an emphatic 7-0 victory at the City Ground.

Morgan Gibbs-White (£4.2m), Neco Williams (£2.6m), Anthony Elanga (£2.9m) and several others produced performances worthy of individual praise but from a Dream Team perspective, Wood was the standout performer with a whopping 24 points to show for his efforts come full time.

The New Zealand international’s 15th, 16th and 17th league goals of the season means he is currently the top performer of the Gameweek.

Incredibly, only bonafide superstars Mohamed Salah (£8m) and Erling Haaland (£7.9m) are ahead of Wood in the Premier League Golden Boot race at the time of writing.

There can be no doubt the 33-year-old is playing the best football of his career.

Such is his reputation right now, he is currently Dream Team’s most transferred-in player ahead of Gameweek 23.

While this may seem perfectly logical on the surface, it’s likely the eager gaffers recruiting Wood this week are guilty of a schoolboy error.

Form is obviously a influential factor when making a transfer but Dream Team managers must remember to look forward as well as reflecting on recent events.

Bringing Wood into the fold now means enlisting him for Forest’s FA Cup fourth round meeting with Exeter next Tuesday, their only fixture of Gameweek 23.

The Grecians are on a terrible run of form that has seen them slip to 17th in League One.

Wood would surely be a likely scorer if he were to be unleashed upon a defence that has conceded 13 goals in their last three outings but how likely is it that Nuno Espirito Santo will risk his top scorer in such a game?

Forest’s phenomenal league campaign means they are genuine contenders to qualify for the Champions League, a lofty achievement that must now be top priority.

Taiwo Awoniyi started up top against Luton in the FA Cup third round and is a strong contender to lead the line against Exeter next week.

Wood was given the last 16 minutes against the Hatters last month (returning one point) but his game time is a major concern for Gameweek 23.

Some gaffers would say that Forest are playing so well this season that they should aim to win the FA Cup – a fair point.

It’s just that a second-string XI should be more than strong enough to beat an Exeter side without a win in their last eight League One fixtures.

Perhaps Wood and other first-team regulars will be given more prominent roles in the competition if a place at Wembley comes into view but that’s largely irrelevant for gaffers who have recruited the in-form target man this week.

Looking further ahead, Wood will start against Fulham in Gameweek 24 (if available) and would certainly be a viable Dream Team option.

After that, Forest are due to face Newcastle and Arsenal in Gameweek 25 in what is one of the most difficult doubler headers of the lot, on paper at least.

Wood has exceeded all expectations this season but even by standards, he’ll have to produce something truly remarkable this month to justify this week’s flurry of transfers.

Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk