Wood and Barnes ‘top finishers’
A former England striker says All Whites star Chris Wood and his Burnley team-mate, Ashley Barnes, are ‘‘as good as any finishers I’ve seen’’.
Peter Crouch, who ended his long career at Burnley last season, has joined a chorus of praise for the Clarets’ strikers.
‘‘We did finishing in training and Chris Wood and Barnes were as good as I’ve seen at finishing and I’ve played with a number of good players who can finish and they’re certainly up there,’’ Crouch, who played for Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur and Stoke City and won 42 England caps, told BT sports.
Wood (20) and Barnes (21) have scored 41 goals in the last two English Premier League seasons since Wood joined Burnley on a $26 million transfer from Leeds United.
Barnes has struck three times in two EPL games this term, with Wood yet to open his 2019-20 campaign account after nine preseason strikes.
Crouch – now a television commentator – believes Barnes, 29, should be considered for an England cap.
‘‘I know some people will laugh at me for saying something like that. I genuinely feel, I look at the England squad now and I look at the players we have there and he is something different.
‘‘Much the same as I was,’’ said the 2.01m tall Crouch. ‘‘When people first started talking about me for England, it was the same sort of reaction. For me, I think he’s a top player, he’s been doing it for a number of seasons.’’
Burnley opened their season with a Barnes double in a 3-0 home win over Southampton and lost 2-1 to Champions League hopefuls Arsenal last weekend, with Barnes again getting on the scoresheet.
Arsenal defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos said facing the physical Wood and Barnes was in some ways tougher than squaring up against Liverpool’s strikers, who the Gunners meet this weekend.
‘‘It is a different game,’’ he said. ‘‘Maybe [Liverpool] is more easy, because you don’t have to fight a lot – but they also play football.’’
Arsenal’s Brazilian centreback David Luiz enjoyed his physical tussle with Barnes.
‘‘Barnes is a great player, he never gives up,’’ Luiz said. ‘‘There is a respect there for each other because we are both trying to do our job. I will always try to do my best.’’
Barnes and Wood first forged a partnership at Brighton in League One when the Kiwi was on loan there from West Bromwich Albion in the 2010-11 season.
Wood (1.91m) and Barnes (1.86m) present a physical challenge for EPL defenders. Wood, 27, told the Lancashire
this week: ‘‘Some strikers just click with each other and it works well with us two.
‘‘You can’t put anything on it, it’s just one of those things.’’
Wood said it was ‘‘very nice’’ for the duo to receive praise, but it would not distract them from the job at hand.
‘‘We have to do the business and score the goals and put in good performances. That’s what we need to continue to do for the whole season.’’