Jonathan Kodjia joined Aston Villa from Bristol City in the summer transfer window.
Bristol City chief operating officer Mark Ashton has told The Bristol Post that the club exploited the transfer market to sell Jonathan Kodjia to Aston Villa at a high price.
Villa signed Kodjia from Championship rivals City in the summer transfer window.
According to BBC Sport, the Villans had to pay an initial transfer fee of £11 million in order to secure the services of the 26-year-old forward.
It has been reported that the transfer fee for the Ivory Coast international may rise to £15m.
It is quite a lot of money to pay for a Championship player, and City COO Ashton has explained how the deal was done.
“We have to be opportunistic at times and, not only do we have to be buyers, we also have to be sellers,” Ashton told The Bristol Post.
“The deal for Jonathan was a prime example of exploiting the market that was awash with Premier League parachute payments coming down and an influx of overseas money.
“I knew there was a group of clubs that wanted Jonathan’s services and we got to a point, disappointingly but understandably, where the player wanted to move. My job was then to maximise that deal.”
Kodjia scored 19 goals and created 36 chances in 45 Championship appearances for City during the 2015-16 campaign.
The Ivory Coast international forward created one chance in four league matches for Lee Johnson’s side this season before his move to Villa in the summer transfer window.
Villa, who got relegated from the Premier League at the end of last season, will face Nottingham Forest at Villa Park in the Championship on Sunday afternoon.
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