Nottingham Forest's New Zealand striker Chris Wood celebrates after scoring. Photo: AFP
All Whites striker Chris Wood has made history after being named the Premier League's Player of the Month for October.
The 32-year-old is the first New Zealander and first Nottingham Forest player to win the award.
He scored in all three appearances in October, netting four goals in total to help Forest go unbeaten through the month.
Forest drew with Chelsea, beat Crystal Palace and beat Leicester City.
"I'm over the moon with it. It's a fantastic achievement," Wood told the Premier League.
"It's a credit to all of us and how the team's working. I couldn't have done it without them. They supply me with all the chances, so it's nice that I've been able to tuck them away for them."
Wood has already picked up where he left off in October, scoring in his only November appearance so far as Forest beat West Ham United 3-0 to rise to third in the Premier League table.
He is now the Premier League's second-highest scorer this season, on eight goals, three behind Erling Haaland in the Golden Boot race.
His eight goals have come from just 21 shots, too. No player to have had at least 20 attempts has a better conversion rate than Wood's 38.1 percent.
The Kiwi joined Forest from Newcastle United in 2023, initially on loan.
Remarkably, since Nuno Espirito Santo's first match as Nottingham Forest head coach on 23 December 2023, Wood has scored 18 non-penalty goals. That is the joint-highest total of all Premier League players during that period, along with Haaland.
Nuno was also named Manager of the Month.
Nottingham Forest play Newcastle United this weekend.
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.