Smith’s comments hint he may sacrifice Kodjia to rebalance his Aston Villa squad

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The Aston Villa squad that Dean Smith inherited from his predecessor Steve Bruce was high on attacking quality but light at the back and that is the main issue he has to address during the January transfer window.

On that subject, Smith said: “We’re quite top heavy, we’ve got four centre forwards here but we’re only playing one up front with Tammy.

“We’ve got four who would probably play for most other teams in the Championship. We need to balance that squad a bit better and I think everyone knows we’ve been light at the back and this window gives us the opportunity.”

And with interest in Jonathan Kodjia from his former club Angers, the possibility has been raised that he could be allowed to leave the club in order to free up funds to bolster Smith’s defence.

Even though it may feel slightly luxurious for Smith to have four elite strikers at his disposal when he can only use one, he should not allow Kodjia to leave Villa Park this month.

If Villa remain shaky at the back, they will need all the firepower they can get to outscore teams if they want to make the play-offs and letting Kodjia leave would be a rash decision Smith may come to regret.