Aston Villa failed to sign a striker this summer and now look to be relying on Jonathan Kodjia once again.
Britt Assombalonga of Middlesbrough and James Chester of Aston Villa in action during the Sky Bet Championship match.
For the second Championship match running Aston Villa played out a 0-0 draw on Tuesday (September 12) as Middlesbrough left the Midlands with a point.
The Villans have now scored seven league goals in as many matches, failing to find the net at all in three of those, and sit 18th in the table currently.
Scott Hogan of Aston Villa looks on during the Sky Bet Championship match against Middlesbrough.
Despite a relatively busy summer for incoming transfers during which manager Steve Bruce focused primarily on hiring experience, the 56-year-old failed to address one key issue – where the goals would come from.
Fans at Villa Park would have been pleased to see Jonathan Kodjia come off the bench in the 70th-minute against Boro having not played since the penultimate game of last season after breaking his ankle.
Yet just like last term, it looks as if the responsibility for finding the back of the net is going to fall firmly on Kodjia’s shoulders once again, with Scott Hogan continuing to struggle and Ross McCormack still cut adrift.
Jonathan Kodjia of Aston Villa celebrates scoring the opening goal during the Sky Bet Championship match against Reading.
The emergence of Keinan Davis and Rushian Hepburn-Murphy from the Under-23s is a huge bonus for the future, but it could take some time for them to bed in.
Villa were linked with strikers throughout the summer and yet no new face arrived and while things are all well and good when Kodjia is firing, a squad hoping to push for promotion needs to have more options if Plan A doesn’t work.
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