Aston Villa left it late to secure a 1-1 draw at home to high-flying Leeds to climb up to ninth in the Championship table.

Steve Bruce’s men fell behind when Pontus Jansson headed home nine minutes into the second half, but the Villans were given a route back into the contest when Liam Cooper handled in the box.

And Jonathan Kodjia netted his ninth goal of the campaign to grab a point for the hosts to move them within five points of the play-off places.

In what has been a difficult first season in the second tier for Villa, they seem to be making progress under Bruce, who replaced the sacked Roberto di Matteo back in October, as they have won seven of the 13 league games he has taken charge of.

It has seen them move away from being relegation candidates to potential promotion challengers, although they’ll need a result at away at Cardiff on Monday to really highlight their promotion credentials.

Villa have clearly improved over the last few months, and a few players are really beginning to show their worth to Bruce, and they may even be attracting interest from the Premier League ahead of the January transfer window.

Thus, here are TWO Villa stars who deserve a top-flight move next month…

Jordan Ayew

Photo: Marc Atkins / Offside.

He got a bit of stick for his efforts in the Premier League with Villa, but Jordan Ayew was clearly one of the more talented players in the Villa squad which got relegated last season.

And we are beginning to see more of that this time around in the Championship, as the Ghanaian international has scored twice and laid on four assists in 21 league appearances for Bruce’s men, and made the desired impact against Burton on Boxing Day.

It was his cross, having come on as a substitute just three minutes earlier, which was tapped home by Ross McCormack to seal the win for Bruce’s side, who moved up to tenth as a result.

Ayew has been linked with a move away from Villa Park in January, with West Ham reportedly interested, and the 25-year-old certainly looks like he is beginning to find his best form.

Jonathan Kodjia

Photo: Paul Roberts / Offside.

Jonathan Kodjia, like Ayew, has been one of Villa’s better players so far this season, and is looking like the player they signed £15 million on in the summer.

The Ivorian international only netted once in his first six games for Villa, but has since then scored eight times in just 13 matches, the latest of which was the equaliser in their 1-1 draw with Leeds on Thursday.

The 27-year-old has consistently been a threat in the final third, certainly since Bruce has taken over, and will be a key member of the side over the coming years should he stay at Villa Park.

However, his recent form may have caught the eye of a few Premier League clubs and, at the age of 27, you sense that the best years are approaching for Kodjia, and a move to the top-flight may be what he needs to show his best football.