Aston Villa came perilously close to qualifying to the Premier League, however, their dreams were shattered as they didn’t manage to go past Fulham in the playoff finals. Since then, the club has been under financial turmoil and there were rumours that the Villans will go into administration. However, their owner has denied that and said that the club is not for sale.
Recently, Steve Bruce admitted that departure of some players are inevitable as they look to generate funds to get out of the financial hardships. One of their players, Jonathan Kodjia, has recently been linked with Leeds United and it might come as a huge boost to the Whites as Bruce took Kodjia’s name when he talked about the players who are likely to leave the club.
He said,”We’re up against it, let’s be open and honest, we might have to make decisions that might not be easy, we have to generate some money’. Inevitably that is going to be player sales. There are going to be people that I do not want to sell – and the obvious one is Jack [Grealish].”
He further added,”I have accepted it and committed myself to the cause and I think it is better to be open and honest with the supporters, warts and all, to say how it is. We know what to expect. We don’t want to lose Grealish, Kodjia and Chester but the inevitability is we might have to so let’s get ready for it.”
The Whites finished 13th last campaign and didn’t look like anywhere close to challenging for a playoff spot. Signing a striker is an absolute necessity for the Peacocks. Last season their top scorer in the Championship was Kemar Roofe who managed 11 goals and apart from him, none of the other players managed to touch the 10 goals mark.
Kodjia had a poor season in the last campaign as he managed just a solitary goal for the Villans but it was largely down to his injury as he missed a good part of the season due to that. However, even when he was back he didn’t look at his best and that is bound to happen sometimes given the long injury layoff.
In the season before that, he was a crucial player for the Clarets and Blues as he scored 19 goals for them. He has good pace and dribbling skill which helps him wriggle out of tight spaces. It also allows him to jet-heel down the left wing. However, he is more suited to play up front as a striker. With Villa in dire financial trouble, it is probably the best time for Bielsa to make a move for him and the 28-year-old can solve some of Leeds’ goal-scoring woes.
