Leeds United have paid around £3m for striker Chris Wood from Leicester City.

The 23-year-old has finally penned a four-year contract with Leeds being the preferred destination over Wolves. The New Zealander began his career down under with Waikato before moving to Hamilton Wanderers in 2008. It was there West Brom discovered him in 2009.

His time at the Hawthorn's saw him start 21 times and score once, however he had loan spells at Barnsley, Brighton, Birmingham, Bristol City, Millwall and Leicester- eventually joining the Foxes permanently in 2013. He leaves Leicester with 52 appearances under his belt and 12 goals, including two in the Premiership versus Everton last season. He spent time on loan to Ipswich last term but failed to score in eight matches.

I must admit the shock sacking of Nigel Pearson last night might have delayed the signing, however Leicester's Thai owners have sanctioned the move and he will be a Leeds player for the next four-years.

Undoubtedly he is a proven striker at Championship level and the sort of ambitious, stellar signing we have craved for many years and there is a huge-swell of optimism tonight amongst the long-suffering Leeds fans.

Leeds have also taken Adam Drury in trial. The right-sided player is a free agent from Manchester City who spent time on loan at both St Mirren and Burton Albion. The 21-year-old is described by a Burton fan I know as being extremely quick, very confident but often lacking quality in his final delivery.

At the time of writing, there are also reports that Leeds are on the verge of completing a season-long loan deal for Brandon Barker, the highly rated Manchester City left-winger who Leeds have chased since May. Watch this space for further announcements but even we are feeling optimistic now.

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