Newcastle United have joined the race to sign Aston Villa striker Jonathan Kodjia. The Magpies have been linked with quite a few strikers as of now, however, nothing has materialised. The club is in dire need of attacking options and Rafael Benitez has made signing a striker a topmost priority in the ongoing transfer window.
Aston Villa are currently cash-strapped and recently Steve Bruce gave an interview where he took Kodjia’s name in one of the players that could be sold in the summer to generate funds. 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.”
He further added, ” 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] – but people will know that we have got financial problems and they’ll sit and wait, and wait, till Deadline Day possibly. 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.”
That will give the club chasing the mentioned players a huge boost as the Villans are hapless at the moment and are like a sitting duck. Kodjia has been a crucial player for them as he provides them with the focal point of attack. However, he missed a good part of last season due to injury and managed just a paltry return of one goal last season. Even when he was back, he didn’t look at his best and that is sometimes bound to happen given the long-term injury layoff. In the season before when he was up and running, he managed a healthy tally of 19 goals.
The Magpies might have finished in the top half of the table in the last term but that was largely down to the fact that they were defensively organised and disciplined. The team failed to score goals freely and Newcastle’s top scorer was Ayoze Perez last season who managed just 8 goals in the Premier League.
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Benitez is aware that he needs a striker who can score 15-20 odd goals a season and Kodjia could be the right answer to his problems. He has decent pace and skills which keeps the opposition defenders busy. In turn that helps to create space for other players. Kodjia might not have any experience of English top flight but can be a decent bet for the Toon.
