John Obi Mikel snubs Awoniyi, praises Chris Wood for Nottingham Forest’s fine run

By Monsurah Olatunji

Former Chelsea midfielder Mikel Obi has heaped praise on Nottingham Forest striker Chris Wood for his standout performances during the 2024/25 season.

Obi’s endorsement of Wood comes amid a fierce competition for a starting role between the New Zealand international and his countryman, Taiwo Awoniyi, in Forest’s lineup under manager Espirito Santo.

Although Awoniyi has featured in most of Forest’s matches this season, making 15 appearances, he has spent much of that time coming off the bench. In contrast, Wood has enjoyed a more prominent role in the starting XI, delivering solid performances.

In their recent 3-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers, Forest moved level on 40 points with Arsenal, who are second in the Premier League. Wood scored the second goal of the game, following Morgan Gibbs-White’s opener, while Awoniyi sealed the victory with his first goal of the season.

However, while discussing Forest’s recent performances on his ObiOne Podcast, Mikel focused his praise on Wood, choosing to highlight his composed finish against Everton as a prime example of the striker’s form and self-assurance. Nottingham Forest defeated Everton 2-0 at Goodison Park, with Wood opening the scoring and also assisting Gibbs-White.

Mikel praised Wood’s confidence in front of goal: “I saw the goal he scored against Everton; it just shows you a player who is playing with so much confidence,” Mikel said.