Kodjia has scored 18 goals in 32 Championship appearances this season.
Aston Villa midfielder Henri Lansbury has told the Birmingham Mail that he and his teammates don’t mind having to shout at Jonathan Kodjia, as long as he puts the ball in the back of the net.
That is something at which Kodjia is undoubtedly accomplished. The Ivorian scored an early winner against QPR on Tuesday to take his tally since signing for Villa in the summer to 18 goals in 32 Championship appearances.
He is now just two strikes away from becoming the first Villa player to score 20 in a league campaign since club legend Peter Withe in their title-winning season of 1980-81.
Despite his superb record, Kodjia has on occasion attracted criticism this term for a perceived tendency to sometimes hold onto the ball for too long or go for goal instead of passing to a teammate in a promising position.
Lansbury admits that this can be a cause of frustration for Kodjia’s teammates, but did concede that he doesn’t mind having to shout at the striker as long as he pops up with a typical decisive contribution.
The former Nottingham Forest man told the Birmingham Mail: “He just wants to score goals.
“Some of the times he could pass it but if he is going to put the ball in the back of the net you don’t mind shouting at him a few times if he is going to whack one in and we win 1-0.
“All the boys want to do is win and I think you can see it in the way we defend the goal.”
Kodjia’s strike on Tuesday was his seventh in the last seven games, and propelled Villa to a seventh win in the last eight matches.
At one point languishing deep in the bottom half of the table, Villa are 11th after the midweek results, nine points off a playoff spot, albeit with only six games remaining.
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