Chris Wood has revealed that he could not play for Leeds United against Sunderland in August as Burnley’s formal bid for him was subject to his omission.
Wood, 25, caused uproar among United supporters when he claimed on his Twitter account that it did not “feel right” for him to play against the Black Cats amid speculation he could join Sean Dyche’s side.
The New Zealand international has now attempted to set the record straight about what happened 12 days before the summer window was due to shut.
In an interview with the Independent, Wood revealed that Burnley’s offer to sign him for £18million would have been torn up if he had played at the Stadium of Light on 19 August, a match which Leeds went on to win 2-0 without the striker.
“Nobody understands that the bid Burnley put in was subject to me not playing against Sunderland,” Wood told the Independent. “And everybody thinks that I refused to play. But it was out of my hands.
“The bid went in at 3pm on the Friday and got accepted at 5pm on the Friday. It was completely out of my hands whether I played or not. Burnley took that out of the equation, because they didn’t want the worst to happen.”
Wood has also made the shock revelation that it was the Leeds top brass who told him to stay put in the team hotel while they took took to the field at the Stadium of Light.
He added: “They said they’d like me to stay there so it doesn’t upset the team, they could focus on the Sunderland game, without people from the outside world thinking why they had got rid of a player the day before the game.
“They just wanted everybody to focus on the game. That is why they wouldn’t let me leave the hotel until the game kicked off, so there was no distraction.”
Wood topped the Championship scoring charts with 27 goals last season, and netted 30 times across all competitions.
He has carried that goalscoring form over to Turf Moor, scoring key goals against Tottenham and Crystal Palace as well as a penalty against Leeds in the League Cup last month.
OPINION
Wood’s revelation puts a whole new slant on his exit from Leeds, which bitterly upset many fans as they felt he had thrown in the towel before the Sunderland match. It is now clear that the forward’s hands were tied, as Burnley wanted to ensure their new signing did not get injured. Some fans will inevitably still try to claim that Wood failed to adhere to the terms of his contract, but Leeds had given their blessing to the stipulation laid down by the Premier League club.