Aston Villa's millions prevented Bristol City success: View | OneFootball

Striker Jonathan Kodjia may have only spent one full season at Ashton Gate, but his performances for Bristol City were mightily impressive.

The Ivorian international was a bit of an unknown quantity when the Robins moved to sign him from French side Angers in the summer of 2015, but the striker soon cemented his status as one of the league's deadliest finishers.

So much so that Aston Villa, who had been relegated from the Premier League at the end of the 2015/16 season, moved to sign Kodjia ahead of their return to the second-tier, forking out a Championship record transfer fee of £15million to bring him to Villa Park.

After continuing to impress in the Championship with Villa, Bristol City supporters will be left with a case of 'what if'. The Ivorian left after just one season at the Robins, but had he stayed for longer he could have potentially helped the club reach the play-offs, or even promotion.

Jonathan Kodjia was very impressive for Bristol City

Despite winning the Ligue 2 player of the season award for the 2014/15 season after helping Angers reach the top-flight, Bristol City paid around just £2million to sign him, and they certainly got their money's worth.

In his only full season at Ashton Gate, Jonathan Kodjia made 45 Championship appearances, 42 of them being starts, and scored 18 league goals, registering three assists.

This put him fourth in the Championship scoring charts for the season, and in total he played 48 times for the club that season, scoring 19 goals.

It was a very impressive first season at the club, and Kodjia had certainly developed a reputation as being one of the best strikers in the league. After finishing 18th in what was their first season back in the Championship, expectations were they would continue to build, and they did, but without the Ivorian international.

Kodjia made just four appearances for the Robins during the opening weeks of the season before Aston Villa came calling and paid £15million for his services in August 2016.

It was a hammerblow to lose a player of his quality, especially so close to the end of the transfer window, but the Robins weren't in a position to turn down that sort of money.

It meant that whilst his stay at Ashton Gate was short-lived, Kodjia performed well for Bristol City on the pitch and also made the club a huge profit - a great signing.

Obviously, Bristol City can't be blamed for cashing in on Jonathan Kodjia, but you have to wonder whether he could have led the Robins to a play-off spot that has proved elusive ever since promotion in 2015.

Bristol City continued to improve season-on-season, culminating in an 8th place finish during the 2018/19 campaign, which was coincidentally Kodjia's last season in the second tier.

The Ivorian impressed for Villa during the 2016/17 season where he scored 19 league goals, before an injury-ridden 2017/18 season saw him score just once in 15 league games.

However, he helped lead the club to the Premier League in 2019, scoring nine goals in 39 league appearances to help Villa achieve their goal of Premier League promotion.

It must have been tough for Bristol City supporters to watch him lead another club to promotion, and it's easy to think of what could have been.

However, on the whole, Kodjia's time at Ashton Gate was a huge success, and the money they received for him helped the club build a solid Championship squad which has built the foundations for where they are today.