Aston Villa striker Jonathan Kodjia has said that he is finding joy of playing again after making a complete recovery from a serious ankle problem. The Ivory Coast international missed the vast part of the previous season with the injury and he ended the campaign with just nine league appearances, where he contributed a solitary goal.

However, he has made a fluent start for the new season with three goals already scored from just six matches and speaking to CAF’s official website, he revealed his pleasure of playing regularly once more, he said: “I gradually regained form after a very difficult period last season. A serious injury forced me to rest for several months. Today, I find the joy of playing again. As proof, I've scored three goals since the beginning of the Championship. In any case, I want to make up for lost time, both for my club and national team.”

Aston Villa defender James Chester has backed the idea of teammate Jack Grealish making the move to the Premier League. The 22-year-old has been heavily linked with a top-flight switch with both Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea interest and Chester believes the midfielder deserves the chance to play at a higher level.

Speaking to The Independent, Chester hailed the qualities of the Villa graduate and suggested that the midfielder should be playing at the very top of the game. Nevertheless, he would still fancy Grealish staying for the club’s promotion push, though that option appears highly unlikely before the transfer deadline.

Steve Bruce has admitted that it will be extremely difficult to keep Jack Grealish away from the clutches of Tottenham. Spurs have been showing tremendous interest in the 20-year-old, who is regarded as one of the next big things in English football. Spurs are reported to have made a £ 20 million offer for the midfielder and are quietly confident about completing the deal before the transfer window closes this week. Bruce has made it no secret that Aston Villa are going through a terrible phase where they are struggling for finances. Unlike a decade ago, Aston Villahave witnessed very few arrivals.

Even though Steve Bruce has been repeatedly stating that Grealish does not remain for sale, it does not look like the midfielder will be happy to stay at the Championship club when he has an offer from a club that has been able to qualify for the Champions League on multiple occasions in the last few seasons. After having also witnessed several young English players flourished thoroughly at Tottenham, there is little doubt that the club will be a great destination for players likeGrealish, who still have a long way to go before being considered in the league of a Dele Alli or Harry Kane.

Aston Villa manager Steve Bruce says that the club may have to end up selling Jack Grealish before the end of the transfer window. The 22-year-old is one of the prized assets for Aston Villa and he will fetch the highest price among any of the current players. The midfielder has been able to get nine goals in his 92 games for Aston Villa. After losing in the play-off final against Fulham last season, Aston Villa need to make up a significant sum of money – around £ 40 million – in order to meet the Financial Fair Play regulations.

Bruce says thatGrealish is certainly a special talent who could improve Aston Villa leaps and bounds. However, the club are being left with little option but to sell him. Tottenham are being linked with a move for the midfielder, who could cost as much as £ 40 million. Aston Villa have gone through a horrendous time over the last few years. Apart from the relegation into the Championship, the club also failed to get back into the Premier League in the first time of asking. This is expected to cost the club around £ 160 million in potential revenue. In addition to this, Villa were unable to meet a £4 million payment for tax related purposes in June. All these have increased the financial pressure on Villa, while owner Tony Xia insisted that the club is not for sale.

Aston Villa have ended the speculation regarding Alan Hutton’s future at the club by rewarding him with a fresh one-year contract. The 33-year-old had been linked with both Rangers and Nottingham Forest with his deal expiring at the end of the month but the Villains have now committed him to a new extension.

“Aston Villa is delighted to announce that Alan Hutton has signed a one-year contract with the club. The defender made 33 league and cup appearances for Villa last season. Since joining the club from Tottenham Hotspur in the summer of 2011, Hutton has gone on to rack up nearly 170 appearances in claret and blue,” a statement read on the club’s official website.

Aston Villa midfielder Jack Grealish has revealed the extent of a serious kidney injury which could have ended his professional career for good. The youngster sustained the problem after a challenge by close friend and Watford midfielder Tom Cleverley in pre-season and this saw him miss the opening months of the Championship campaign.

In an interview with The Mirror, he said: “I took a kick to the kidney and it split in two places. It was pouring with blood, internally, for about five hours. It’s the worst pain I’ve ever been in. I went to Heartlands hospital in Birmingham. They found out what it was and I was rushed to the Queen Elizabeth for an operation. Before it happened, the surgeon had to tell me the consequences of what could happen if it didn’t work. He looked me in the eye and said, ‘Jack, you could die’. My reply was, ‘What?’ I was genuinely scared. I’m a big believer that everything happens for a reason. I came back from that injury a different person.”

Aston Villa assistant Colin Calderwood has said that the club are behind Steve Bruce as he returns from a difficult week in his personal life. The 57-year-old witnessed the death of his mother in the week just past and he has since got to know the news of his former manager Sir Alex Ferguson, who is under intensive care in the hospital.

Aston Villa manager Steve Bruce has revealed that Jonathan Kodjia could be restricted to a bench role having only recently recovered from an injury. The Ivorian is arguably the Villain’s biggest goal threat, but Bruce is not taking the risk of throwing him straight into the line-up with the club’s automatic promotion hopes more or less over.

Former Aston Villa midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker believes Jack Wilshere should turn his back on Arsenal and pursue a fresh challenge elsewhere during the summer. The England international has reached a contract impasse at the north London club, and there is a huge possibility that he could leave on a free transfer in the summer.

Former Liverpool midfielder-turned-pundit Jamie Redknapp has suggested that Aston Villa have made one of the signing of the Championship season in the form of skipper John Terry. The former England international returned from a foot injury at the turn of the year, and he has been crucial to their drive to secure top-flight promotion.

Despite a slow start to the season, the Villains find themselves right in the mix for an automatic promotion bid, and Redknapp, speaking to The Mail, believes Terry has been the key influence behind the club’s successful run, he said: "Aston Villa invested in Terry, now 37, by taking on his wages and if they get promoted to the Premier League, he will have been worth every penny. What you don’t see is the influence he has in that dressing room. A bad atmosphere can set in but it only takes one or two lads like JT and that can soon change. Villa are third in the Championship and their new leader can go down as one of the signings of the season."