OPINION
West Brom must turn their attentions to signing Aston Villa forward Jonathan Kodjia this summer amid reported interest from Championship rivals Leeds United.
Albion face the prospect of losing both Jay Rodriguez and Salomon Rondon this summer with the Express and Star claiming that the Hawthorns duo are wanted by Burnley and Newcastle United respectively.
It is understood that the Baggies are bracing themselves for an approach for Rondon, whose £16.5million release clause was triggered upon relegation from the Premier League last season – so Darren Moore will find himself in need of reinforcements up front.
Kodjia, 28, would be an absolute masterstroke signing by the West Brom boss.
The Ivory Coast international struggled with injuries and fitness problems last season, but if he was to be able to put that behind him, he could be the man to help the Baggies fire themselves back to the Premier League.
In 2016/17, Kodjia scored 19 goals in 40 Championship games for Villa as they finished mid-table, and the season before that at Bristol City he scored 18 in 45 league appearances.
If he was to sign for a team that is chasing promotion, he would surely improve on them numbers and be a real asset for the Baggies – however they must move quick.
According to Football Insider, Leeds will try to sign Kodjia this summer if they are unable to seal a deal for Derby’s ex-West Brom forward Matej Vydra.
The Mirror has previously reported how dire Aston Villa’s financial situation is and that could lead to West Brom getting the perfect chance to raid their West Midlands rivals to sign the £35,000-a-week forward on a cheap deal so they can get him off their wage-bill.
If Moore sells Rodriguez and Rondon and makes near-£40million in sales, he would surely be able to fund the signing of Kodjia and one more proven Championship forward.
It makes perfect sense for Moore to look into getting this deal done and an instant return to the Premier League would surely be in sight if they were.