'Minimum standard' - Dean Smith's brutal parting shot at former Aston Villa star
Aston Villa transfer news | Jonathan Kodjia was allowed to leave striker-less Aston Villa, with the head coach delivering a damning verdict of the Ivorian who's signed for Al-Gharafa for around £2m
Ashley PreeceClub Writer
Aston Villa head coach Dean Smith has explained why Jonathan Kodjia was allowed to leave, admitting: "He wasn't up to the standard."
Kodjia joined Qatari side Al-Gharafa on Monday for a cut-price fee in the region of £2m. The 30-year-old was given the green light to depart by Smith - that's despite Villa currently being striker-less going into a crucial run of fixtures.
The Ivorian, 30, cost Villa around £12m back in 2016 and, with just months left on his current deal at Villa Park, decided to leave.
Aston Villa's Jonathan Kodjia celebrates Anwar El Ghazi's goal against Fulham (Image: Glyn Kirk/AFP/Getty Images)
When asked about why he let the striker go, Smith said: "Because he wasn't up to the standard, in my opinion. He hadn't got to the level of fitness that, for me, was required for the Premier League. That's the minimum standard to play Premier League football."
Kodjia had played just 111 minutes of Premier League football this term. He scored nine goals during Villa's promotion season last term but, this season, struggled for form and fitness - and played second-fiddle to Brazilian striker Wesley.
"One, he didn't get the minutes," Smith replied, when asked why Kodjia's fitness hadn't been up to scratch. "He got injured against Spurs after coming on and he was out for a month or two.
"He had to work very hard, he didn't have a pre-season due to the African Cup of Nations and then an injury followed. He's had to work very hard to get to the levels and, due to Wesley playing, he's not had the minutes to get up to speed with games."
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Smith added: "Unfortunately, he wanted to move on and I was happy to let that happen. He left the training ground ill before the Leicester City game, there was no problem, it was just circumstances.
"Kodjia did well for me in the Championship but he always knew Tammy (Abraham) was No.1 choice. When Tammy got injured, he stepped up to the plate and scored some important goals for us last season."
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Smith, meanwhile, remains confident of landing Tanzanian captain Mbwana Samatta from Racing Club Genk. The striker has been at Bodymoor Heath ahead of a proposed £8.5m switch.
Villa are also in the market for another striker, and the head coach said of the current search: "You're looking all over the world, that's the market we're in now, and you have to because January is such a tough market.
"To get four different things aligned - two clubs, player and agent - at the same time is tough. We've good people working for us, very hard, and we're trying to get them moves over the line."
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