Everton and Stoke have previously shown interest in Jonathan Kodjia so will Aston Villa need to get promoted this season to keep him?
Jonathan Kodjia of Aston Villa in action during the Sky Bet Championship match against Middlesbrough.
Jonathan Kodjia made his long awaited return for Aston Villa last week, coming off the bench during a 0-0 home draw with Middlesbrough in the Championship.
The striker, who had not played since April after breaking his ankle, then started against Barnsley at the weekend as Villa ended a run of three league games without a win to emerge as 3-0 victors.
Steve Bruce, manager of Aston Villa.
While the 27-year-old was not on the scoresheet at Oakwell, his presence was a lift to the entire team as he roamed around the pitch with confidence and dropped deep to allow his young strike partner Keinan Davis more space to bag his first senior goal.
It shows that Villa with and without Kodjia are an entirely different prospect, with Ross McCormack and Scott Hogan failing to impress in attack and Davis showing great promise, but still needing time to develop.
The problem is, having scored 19 times last season there has already been speculation that the Ivory Coast international is good enough to play in the Premier League – with the Birmingham Mail reporting Everton and Stoke City were keeping tabs towards the latter end of 2016/17.
Jonathan Kodjia of Aston Villa scores his side’s first goal during the Sky Bet Championship match against Norwich City.
Being out injured all summer probably actually helped suppress rumours concerning Kodjia, but unless the Villans get promoted this time around is there every chance that they will lose their forward?
It certainly puts more pressure on manager Steve Bruce and his players to build on that convincing victory over the Tykes and finally start to show they are one of the strongest sides in the division.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
