Nathan Baker outlines what he knew immediately when he first saw Aston Villa man in training

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The Villa defender was has been hugely impressed with his first impressions of this teammate.

Aston Villa defender Nathan Baker has told the club’s official website that he knew the club had a “top-class” player on their hands from the moment he first saw summer signing Jonathan Kodjia in training.

Villa paid what was a huge fee for a Championship club and player – reported to be an initial £11 million, potentially rising to £15 million – to bring Kodjia to Villa Park from Bristol City this summer.

He has immediately begun to repay that significant outlay, scoring eight goals in his first 17 Championship appearances for the club, including seven strikes in his last 11 games under Steve Bruce.

The Ivorian is undoubtedly Villa’s main man at the moment, as he displayed on Sunday by hitting a late winner at QPR, responding well to seeing his penalty saved earlier in the game.

In the wake of that win, Baker has revealed that he knew Villa had a “top-class” player on their hands from the moment he first laid eyes on Kodjia in training.

Baker told avfc.co.uk: “Jonathan has been superb for us ever since he arrived in the summer. I saw instantly in training that we had a top-class striker on our hands.

“He’s always on it at Bodymoor Heath – he works hard, he never gives less than 100% every day, he has real intensity in every session and he just loves scoring goals. He obviously works hard at his game but he has also clearly been born with that natural ability in front of goal. If he gets a sniff of a chance, he generally scores.

“He missed the penalty at the weekend but he kept going – and I just felt he would still have a big impact on the game and he did. His attitude is infectious too. He’s always smiling and brings a positive attitude to the training ground. He’s been a great addition for so many reasons.”

There are some concerns among Villa fans about how the club will cope when Kodjia, along with other attacking stars Jordan Ayew and potentially Albert Adomah, leaves for the Africa Cup of Nations in early January.

However, Baker has moved to alleviate those worries and insists that Kodjia will be determined to make up for lost time when he returns to spur Villa on to a top-six finish.

Baker added: “Obviously he will go away for the African Cup of Nations but when he returns, I expect Jonathan to be a big influence on us pushing for those places in the top reaches of the table.”