Burnley break club transfer record to sign Championship striker

Burnley have announced they have signed Leeds United striker Chris Wood for a club-record sum worth a reported £15m.

Sean Dyche’s side have been looking for a new striker since selling Andre Gray to Premier League rivals Watford at the start of the month in a deal worth £18.5m.

Leeds rejected Burnley’s opening offer for the 25-year-old but the Clarets have returned with a club-record bid and signed the New Zealand international on a four-year deal.

Wood will wear the No.11 shirt for Burnley and his departure is a massive blow for Leeds’ promotion hopes this season.

“My ambition has been to play in the Premier League for years,” Wood told the club’s official website. “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 is 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 year 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.”

Since the start of last season, Wood has scored at least five more goals than any other Championship player (28), excluding the play offs.

Of players that have scored more than five goals in that time, only Dwight Gayle (26.1%) has a better conversion rate than Wood (24.8%).