Jonathan Kodjia was given just six minutes to make an impression for Aston Villa in Wednesday’s defeat to Brentford, despite both Anwar El Ghazi and Albert Adomah being hooked off earlier in the game due to their poor performances.
Kodjia has racked up just 175 minutes of Championship football in 2019, being handed only two starts in the last two months, so why does Dean Smith continue to overlook him? Adomah hasn’t scored a league goal all season while El Ghazi has no goal since December and has only one assist since August.
Both players continue to underperform, but Kodjia barely gets an opportunity to prove his worth despite being Villa’s second top goalscorer. Even Andre Green was brought on sooner than the Ivorian international against Brentford which may suggest the latter is now bottom of the pecking order under Smith.
Kodjia hasn’t scored a goal since mid-December, but he’s only racked up 207 minutes of Championship football since. Smith has handed him only two league starts after his goal against Stoke City too, so it’s hardly surprisingly he can’t find his form.
Whether he’ll be given an extended run in the side remains to be seen, however, as Smith has developed a habit for dropping him just one game after giving him a rare start.
