Aston Villa are said to have bid for the Bristol City striker, but another second-tier marksman could be more up their street.
Few players at Aston Villa’s disposal will be more useful than Rudy Gestede this season.
The physical front man, who scored 20 league goals in his last campaign at Championship level, is the type of player you build a team around in England’s second tier.
Gestede’s goals earned him a £6m move to Villa a year ago
With the right partner, Villa could have themselves one of the division’s most feared strike forces: this season’s Vokes & Gray; Kermorgant & Wilson; or even, going back a little further, Phillips & Quinn.
So is another big man necessary? According to France Football, the Villans seem to think so.
The website claims a bid for Bristol City striker Jonathan Kodjia has been lodged. 20 goals last season; 6 feet, 3 inches tall; a native French speaker; age 26 – I’ve essentially described Gestede.
Kodjia hit 20 in his first season at Ashton Gate
Villa’s recruitment policy has so far favoured those with Championship experience, with Aaron Tshibola plucked from Reading and Tommy Elphick collecting a second-tier winners’ medal at Bournemouth in 2014. And the solution to their striking needs may also lie in that division.
Huddersfield’s Nahki Wells (17) scored just two fewer league goals than Kodjia last season, which is his best return yet at that level. But in a side with promotion aspirations like Villa, he’d be a good bet to hit 20 this time around.
Wells, who scored 17 times in last season’s Championship, may be familiar to Villa fans
At 26, the Bermudan, who scored against the Villans for Bradford in the 2013 League Cup semi-final, is poised to enter his prime years – that said, he is unlikely to cost more than his Robins counterpart.
With the interest in Jordan Ayew said to be hotting up (Mail), signing a player in the Ghanaian’s mould, like Wells, would make far more sense than another Rudy Gestede.
Gestede tussles with the Watford defence
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