Leeds United Boss Confident He Can Keep Star Striker at Club Despite Rumours of a Transfer Away

Leeds United manager Thomas Christiansen has revealed his confidence in keeping hold of his star striker Chris Wood this summer.

Wood was the Championship's leading goalscorer last term netting 27 goals for the club. He also became only the sixth player to have scored more than 30 goals in a season for United. This of course would certainly attract attention from Premier League clubs. However, according to the Yorkshire Evening Post, Christiansen believes he can keep Wood at Leeds for the upcoming season.

Christiansen said: "Yes of course. He’s our player. There’s only one thing that I know 100 per cent and that is that we will all pass away but in football nothing is guaranteed."

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He added: "In Neymar, you believe you have a player for many years, you renew [his contract], he takes a lot of money in the negotiation and after a short time you break it, because you can break it."

He continued: "Who would have said that someone would pay so much money? So in the case of Chris Wood, he will stay and I want him to stay, but you never know."

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Despite Christiansen only having experience managing clubs in the Cypriot league, he claims to know a lot about English football - the Championship in particular - from watching games as a child.

Christiansen said: "This league is not unknown for me. I have followed the league, I’ve seen many games, I’ve seen our games from last season. When I was a child I also followed the English football. 

"Perhaps this Championship remains a little bit more like the English style, more physical, the direct play, than the Premier League which has changed a little bit because of the foreign coaches who came in."

He added: "The players from abroad have brought another style, another idea, but it’s very exciting this league and I’m looking forward to it.

"From my information, all around me I have people who know a lot about this league. One of them of course is Victor Orta, who knows all the players from all the teams. You can ask him one name and he will immediately say 'this player plays like this'. I don’t have to Google that, I just ask him."