Libor Kozak to leave Villa?

If the reports are to be believed, Libor Kozak's time at Aston Villa may be up.

The Times(subscription required) and The Express have today reported that Libor Kozak is set to depart Villa Park, with Celtic and Bundesliga sides Mainz touted as possible destinations.

Kozak started his Aston Villa career brightly, scoring 4 times in 14 starts following his summer 2013 signing from Lazio. However, his career stalled massively after suffering a freak leg break in training, which led to him missing 18 months of action. Kozak made his return this summer in pre-season, but the arrivals of Jordan Ayew and Rudy Gestede have seen the Czech striker all but frozen out of action at Villa Park.

Both the Times and the Express mention Celtic as favourites to sign Kozak, and Celtic are clearly in the market for a new striker, having previously been linked with Swansea frontman Michu. Kozak would definitely thrive in the Scottish Premier League, but a move to Mainz would see Kozak play in a more competitive division.

The Times is definitely a more reputable source than the Express, so it's definitely worth putting stock into this rumour. In addition, Mainz are also clearly after a new striker, after Shinji Okazaki left to join Leicester City.

Fitness is definitely an issue for Kozak given his long spell out injured, so perhaps a loan move would suit Aston Villa more than outright departure. Either way, after all that Libor has gone through at Villa, you couldn't really blame him if he wanted a clean break. Just not a leg break.