New £15m Aston Villa signing received maximum fine days before joining Roberto Di Matteo’s men

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Aston Villa striker Jonathan Kodjia was fined two-weeks wages by Bristol City prior to his move to join their Championship rivals.

The 26-year-old received the fine after asking not to play against Scunthorpe United in the EFL Cup on August 23, as he was ultimately concerned about suffering any setbacks in his move away from the club.

Seven days later, and the Ivory Coast international secured his move to Villa Park, with the Birmingham Mail confirming that the deal could be worth up to £15m.

“There was interest in Jonathan throughout the summer, but it became serious in the couple of days leading up to the Scunthorpe game,” City coach Lee Johnson said.

“I was really disappointed that he asked me not to play in that game. I wanted to cover it up by putting him on the bench, but I was never going to bring him on.”

Kodjia’s actions could be interpreted in one of two ways in that some may consider it unprofessional, but from a Villa perspective, it was clear that he was keen to complete a move and didn’t want anything getting in the way of it.

It’s not quite the ideal set of circumstances to leave a former club, but ultimately he will now be looking forward to a successful future with Villa.

The former Angers forward scored 18 goals in 45 Championship appearances last season, which paved the way for his big-money move to join Roberto Di Matteo’s side.

Given that he has had just one year in English football, both the club and player will be under pressure to ensure that it proves to be a wise signing as it does come across as a bit of a gamble with Villa needing him to fire in the goals to earn immediate promotion back to the Premier League.

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