The 21-year-old made his debut for the Foxes on New Year’s Day opening the scoring with a brace during the 6-1 win over Huddersfield Town.
The first was a crashing header from close range in the seventh minute before he hit the back of the net again 24 minutes in after sweeping home a David Nugent cross. Wood also turned provider for the Foxes fifth and sixth goals in a standout introduction to the Leicester faithful.
Wood added his third goal in two appearances when he again opened the scoring this time in Leicester’s 2-0 FA Cup victory over Burton Albion on Saturday.
The former Waikato FC marksman says he has never had a better introduction to a new club, even after a string of successful loan spells in the past two-and-a-half years.
“I think it was the best debut I’ve had,” Wood says.
“It’s always nice to get on the score sheet but more important that we got the three points, and we’ve done that too.”
Wood says Leicester City manager Nigel Pearson’s ambition was a deciding factor in his move to the Foxes.
“When I spoke to the manager, he told me about the club’s ambition to get to the Premier League this year and that’s where I want to play.”
And Pearson is clearly pleased with his imminent signing’s ability to slot into the team.
“He played his part in what was a very positive team performance. His attributes fit the bill for us, he’s a team player, he works exceptionally hard and I think he shows a lot of footballing intelligence too,” Pearson says.
“It’s pleasing for him to get off to the start that he has, but it’s about the group and I thought we played very well.”
The Kiwi is also impressing his new teammates, with midfielder Andy King saying the striker provides a welcome boost to the Foxes heading into the business end of the season.
“You can see he has an eye for the goal and has scored early in his first two games,” King says.
“You look at his tally for the season and he is up there with the top scorers in the league. He has scored a lot of goals this season and if he can keep that going for us, it will give us a big boost.
“He links the play well but also works hard, which everyone at this club does. I think that gives us all a lift when you have strikers pressing defenders. It gives the team the emphasis to go on and do that too.”
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Wood makes dream introduction
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