Nottingham Forest were interested in signing Jonathan Kodjia from Aston Villa this month.
The Ivorian striker was heavily linked with a move to the City Ground as part of Sabri Lamouchi’s plan to bring in support for Lewis Grabban, who is his only recognised forward as things stand.
Kodjia was due to be out of contract in the summer and with January representing Villa’s last chance to receive a fee for him, manager Dean Smith was happy to let him go.
Smith fired a brutal parting shot at the 30-year-old, whose move to Qatari side Al Gharafa was confirmed at the start of the week.
Asked why Kodjia was allowed to leave, Smith told BirminghamLive: "Because he wasn't up to the standard, in my opinion.
“He hadn't got to the level of fitness that, for me, was required for the Premier League. That's the minimum standard to play Premier League football."
While Forest’s search for a new frontman continues, and there are claims a deal for Nuna da Costa from Strasbourg is close, Kodjia is still finding himself on the receiving end of some severe criticism.
Now, former Villa striker Darren Bent has slammed the forward, telling Football Insider: “He’s been way too inconsistent.
"You don’t know what you’re going to get from him. He showed how good he was in the Championship and I was excited to see how he was going to get on in the Premier League.
“It hasn’t really worked for him, I know he’s been given limited opportunities but the opportunities he’s got he hasn’t really shown enough for me.
“It’s a big loss for Villa because I think he was one of the fans’ favourites, they quite liked him but at the same time there’s no point being a fans’ favourite if you can’t help your team get out of relegation.
“It’s probably a good deal all round but they need to go and get somebody else.”
