Aston Villa: Keeping Jonathan Kodjia An Imperative
By Josh Tonti
Aston Villa eighteen goal man Jonathan Kodjia is attracting interest from Premier League sides. Keeping Kodjia around for next season is imperative for the claret and blues promotion chances.
Jonathan Kodjia scored, again, for the eighteenth time this campaign. The Ivorian’s early goal on Saturday against Burton Albion provided Villa the early lead.
Fatigue and an eventual injury to Kodjia resulted in a 1-1 draw at home. Afterwards, reports from England came out about interest in Kodjia from Premier League clubs, Everton and Stoke City.
None of this is a surprise, however. Seemingly almost every single goal-starved Premier League side should be interested in Jonathan Kodjia. His ability to create chances for himself greatly benefits clubs who lack creativity in the final third. Moreover, the finishing ability is lethal.
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For Villa, keeping Kodjia for one more season in the Championship remains crucial. Without him, the club’s strike force seems suddenly barren once more.
Scott Hogan is a dangerous forward, but his penchant for injury makes him not quite as reliable. Gabby is still Gabby, while Rushian Hepburn-Murphy and Keinan Davis are under the age of 20.
Villa transferred in Kodjia from Bristol City for somewhere in the vicinity of £15 million. Tony Xia should be in no mood to sell for anything less than double the purchase price.
Just two summers ago, Villa broke their transfer record by selling Christian Benteke to Liverpool for £35 million.
In order for Aston Villa to push promotion next season, they need Jonathan Kodjia. Otherwise, the club struggles at finding the back of the net. Jack Grealish and Albert Adomah are tied for third in scoring with three goals a piece. The second highest goalscorer? Rudy Gestede. He was sold to Middlesbrough in January.
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Kodjia, at the age of 27, is in his prime. He is under contract for three more seasons to help push this club back to the Premier League. Keeping him around should be priority number one.