Aston Villa are currently 12 points clear of the relegation zone and appear set to retain their Premier League status for the fourth straight season since their promotion back to the top flight in 2019.
The Villans spent three years down in the Championship following their relegation at the end of the 2015/16 campaign and endured some difficult times in the second tier before Dean Smith led the side to play-off glory in 2018/19.
One signing the club ultimately had a howler with during that period was former Bristol City centre-forward Jonathan Kodjia, who arrived at Villa Park for a then-Championship record fee of £15m.
What happened to Jonathan Kodjia?
Roberto Di Matteo was the club’s manager at the time and hailed the striker as a “proven” goalscorer, with the gem having struck 18 times in 45 Championship matches for the Robins in the 2015/16 campaign.
The Ivorian enjoyed a terrific first season in the Midlands as he plundered 19 goals in 36 outings in the division but the 6 foot 3 attacker was unable to carry this form over into the subsequent years.
Kodjia managed ten league goals in the next three seasons – nine of which came in the 2018/19 Championship campaign – and the forward failed to score in any of his six Premier League appearances.
Ex-Villa attacker Darren Bent stated that the Ivory Coast man was “way too inconsistent” and that he did not show enough during his time in the top division, which is backed up by the aforementioned statistics.
Aston Villa boss Dean Smith decided to part ways with the striker midway through the club’s return to the Premier League as Qatari side Al-Gharafa SC signed him for an undisclosed fee in January 2020.
The striker has since moved on to Umm Salal SC in Qatar – joining them last summer on a free transfer – and has scored five goals in 13 outings for his new club.
At the age of 33, the veteran is not plying his trade in a major European league and his decline since the end of his first term at Villa has been disappointing to see.
The dud’s poor form and failure to make the step up to the Premier League, despite joining the Villans for a Championship record fee, is why Di Matteo had a blunder when it came to signing him in 2016.
Despite heading toward the end of his career, Kodjia has only played six matches in one of Europe’s top five leagues with the marksman very much having failed to live up to the price Villa splashed out for his services.