Ezri Konsa Aston Villa
Aston Villa bought 8 defenders at the start of 2019/2020 season – Tyrone Mings from Bournemouth, Matt Targett from Southampton and Ezri Konsa from Brentford ( championship team ) being top 3 signings in terms of money paid. Aston Villa had spent £12million to trigger Ezri Konsa’s release clause at Brentford.
The £12million defender did not have much involvement and his first playing minutes came for 15 minutes in the 5-1 win at Norwich but otherwise, another summer arrival in Bjorn Engels – a rookie in English football – was the man chosen to partner Tyrone Mings. Engels missed the short trip to Wolves with a hip injury, allowing Konsa to have his Premier League start. And despite a 2-1 defeat, Konsa’s full debut went so well that Dean Smith started using the defender more . Konsa played just 15 minutes in the club’s opening 11 Premier League games but has now started in every game and Villa fans have been blown away by the 22-year-old’s talent.
Konsa’s combination of crosses, blocks, interceptions and a high pass success rate have been highlights of his impressive display. The defender has shown capability on the ball – a vital element of Smith’s philosophy to play out from the back and incorporate both Villa’s attack and defense in their overall play.
The view amongst pundits has been that Konsa had people in front of him who have done really well in the position so he’s had to be patient. Dean Smith knows him well, he’s given him his opportunity. He’s had to wait for an injury but this is the thing that happens.He’s done that and he’s really grabbed the opportunity with both hands. The manager’s shown good faith in him so he’s obviously doing something right.
