Arsenal agree £51m deal to sign Ezri Konsa from Aston Villa

Defender to provide cover for injured Saliba and Timber

England's Ezri Konsa during the international friendly match at Wembley Stadium, London. Picture date: Friday June 7, 2024.

Arsenal have agreed a £51m deal to sign Ezri Konsa from Aston Villa. The Premier League champions have been keen to find defensive cover for William Saliba and Jurriën Timber, who are out with injuries. They have tracked Konsa throughout the summer and have made a breakthrough in the negotiations.

Mikel Arteta hopes Konsa, whose Villa contract has two years to run, can make light of Saliba’s absence in central defence. The timeframe for the Frenchman’s return is unclear but he is not expected to play before mid-October, having sustained a back injury in France’s World Cup semi-final defeat against Spain. Konsa’s appeal is bolstered by the fact he can also play at right-back, where Timber is battling to return from a groin injury which has affected him for months.

Konsa starred for England on their run to the World Cup semi-finals. A fixture in Villa’s successful team, the 28-year-old will encounter fierce competition at Arsenal, especially when Saliba is fit. Arteta rates Saliba’s partnership with Gabriel Magalhães as the best in England but he thinks the addition of a player of Konsa’s calibre is a signal of Arsenal’s desire to build on their title success of last season and dominate.

The manager knows that his team played 63 matches in all competitions last season, which included runs to the Champions League and Carabao Cup finals, and he hopes to have a similar number this time out. As such, he believes he will be able to give Konsa the minutes he would expect, particularly when injuries are factored in. Arteta is also determined to have more high-quality options so that he can better rotate. At present, he has eight defenders, including Myles Lewis-Skelly, who can play in midfield.

Konsa joined Villa from Brentford in 2019 and has been central to their rise up the Premier League table under Unai Emery. He has made 286 appearances for them and was a part of the team that won the Europa League last season. Arsenal kick off the new season at home to Coventry on Friday night.

Meanwhile, Villa are braced for another bid from Al-Hilal for Ollie Watkins, after rejecting an offer worth almost £40m for the striker. Al-Hilal are pursuing a move for Villa’s all-time Premier League goalscorer, who has reached double figures in the top flight in his six seasons at the club after joining from Brentford.

If Villa sell Watkins, who has two years on his contract, they would seek to replace the 30-year-old England striker and Emery is a big admirer of Nicolas Jackson, but Chelsea’s valuation of £65m is thought to be prohibitive to any deal. There is an acceptance at Villa that any marquee arrival before the close of the window would probably have to follow another major sale, owing to the Premier League’s financial regulations.

Emery has had to significantly reshape his squad this summer after the departures of Morgan Rogers, Youri Tielemans and Lucas Digne, who joined Chelsea, Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain respectively, with Konsa now also on the move.

Villa have signed Zion Suzuki as a replacement for Emiliano Martínez, whose future remains unclear. Suzuki, a £30m buy from Parma, will be the first Japanese goalkeeper to play in the Premier League.

Villa have completed the £17m signing of Matteo Ruggeri from Atlético Madrid and remain in talks with Bayern Munich over a deal for João Palhinha and West Ham for Aaron Wan-Bissaka. Villa have also signed Johan Manzambi from Freiburg for a club-record £52m and João Gomes from Wolves for £38m. There could be further sales, with Villa hoping to find Martínez a new club.

Villa gave Watkins, together with Martínez and Konsa, an extended four-week break after the World Cup. Emery said Watkins volunteered to play in last week’s Super Cup against PSG, but the manager advised him to continue to rest.

Guardian