Jonathan Kodjia has left Aston Villa to join Qatari side Al Gharafa, as has been confirmed by the club’s official Twitter account.
This follows on from what has been a severely underwhelming season for the Ivory Coast international, with injury issues and the arrival of Wesley playing a part in that.
He made six substitute appearances in the Premier League, totalling 111 minutes, failing to get a single goal or assist.
The only game in which the 30-year-old showed any sign of impressing was in the Carabao Cup, when Villa beat a youthful Liverpool side 5-0, as Kodjia went on to get a brace.
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Even despite all of that, the fact he has been allowed to leave before a striker has been brought in to replace Wesley is a damning indictment on how far Kodjia has fallen. This stance comes with the Brazilian’s season-ending injury leaving Dean Smith playing without a recognised frontman – as was the case against Brighton & Hove Albion.
When Kodjia first moved to Villa Park, during the 2016/17 season, he was an instant hit, earning a point against Brentford in his second game for the club.
His maiden season’s final tally would end up being 19 goals and one assist from 36 appearances in total, indicating that he could be a key man for the club.
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There were struggles to contend with in the following campaign, as he only managed 18 appearances due to two separate ankle injuries, but the striker still made his impact felt.
Notably, he scored the only goal in a win against Bolton Wanderers, while also providing assists that earned victories against Nottingham Forest and Fulham.
Even when Tammy Abraham came in last season, becoming Villa’s main striker, Kodjia was still a useful player for the club to have.
19 of his 41 appearances in the Championship and the playoffs came off the bench, as Villa earned promotion to the Premier League and he still popped up with nine goals, along with three assists.
Again, these directly contributed to getting points on the board, with a brace securing a draw against Brentford, a goal and assist against Stoke City got a 2-2 draw, while he scored the only goal of the game in a victory over Millwall.
However, as has already been mentioned, Kodjia has been poor ever since the club reached the promised land of the Premier League.
It got to the point where he was slammed for his performance in the FA Cup against Fulham before fans called for him to be sold.
Kodjia’s move away from the club has now been confirmed, also displaying how rapidly his influence at the club has declined this season.
Meanwhile, Villa fans reacted to links with a new striker.