After Aston Villa completed the signing of Jonathan Kodjia, Bristol City fans took to Twitter to voice their opinions.
Bristol City’s Jonathan Kodjia and Mark Little (L) in action with Newcastle United’s Yoan Gouffran (R)
Bristol City have agreed a club record fee in the region of £15 million from Aston Villa for Jonathan Kodjia.
The striker has signed a four-year contract at Villa Park with the Midlands club paying an initial £11m for his services.
Aston Villa’s Jordan Ayew and Ritchie De Laet in action with Bristol City’s Bobby Reid
The 26-year-old scored 20 goals in 52 games for Bristol City and had also been the subject of interest from Derby County and Premier League side Hull City. Kodjia, 26, arrived from French side Angers SCO in 2015 and had been the subject of considerable transfer speculation all summer.
While Roberto Di Matteo’s side have turned to Kodjia as they search for a prolific striker in their bid for promotion, City still have Chelsea loanee Tammy Abraham to call on at Ashton Gate. But while Lee Johnson may not feel he needs to strengthen ahead of the close of the transfer window, the sale of Kodjia may mean he has to bring in a back-up to Abraham should he get injured, face suspension, or as is expected get a call-up for England under-19s or possibly the under-21s.
Bristol City’s Tammy Abraham celebrates scoring their goal
The Bristol City FC website has reported that chief operating officer Mark Ashton said: “We want to build the club in the right way and we’ve had a very active and positive summer in the transfer market. We’ve continually told Jonathan that we don’t want him to go, but recently he’s made it clear that he’s aware of the interest of other clubs and that he wanted to leave.
“After lengthy discussions with (head coach) Lee Johnson, the board and importantly (majority shareholder) Steve Lansdown, we felt that if we got the right offer we would allow him to leave. We have turned down several bids from other Championship clubs and also clubs in the Premier League.
“On Saturday night I spoke to Aston Villa and explained to them our detailed valuation and payment terms. Villa agreed to match those terms and subsequently permission was given for Jonathan to discuss personal terms and undergo a medical.
“This is the largest fee this club has ever received and once again shows how far we are progressing and the high regard in which our players are held.
“Due to the high profile nature and speculation surrounding the deal we have chosen to disclose the fee. We will receive a total of £11m guaranteed, which has the potential to rise to £15m. In addition, we have retained a sell-on clause for a percentage of any future profit.”
Bristol City manager Lee Johnson
The sale of Kodjia is one that is viewed as great business, particularly by City fans, who took to Twitter to voice their thoughts…
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