Arsenal have made significant progress towards buying Ezri Konsa from Aston Villa, reports The Athletic. The 28-year old England international emerged as the likeliest move to shore up the right side of the Arsenal defense, which will start the season with both William Saliba and Jurrien Timber out through injury.
Villa had initially slapped a £60M price tag on him and reports were that Arsenal valued him around £40M. It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that the most recent reporting has the potential
fee in the £50M neighborhood. As we saw with the negotiations to buy Bruno Guimaraes, where Arsenal and Newcastle met in the middle, that’s how these things should work.
It seems as if part of the delay in working towards a deal was due to the England man still being on vacation post-World Cup. He returned to preseason training on Monday. Two days later, we get reports that the two clubs are moving towards an agreement. I’m sure the fact that Arsenal play at Aston Villa on MD2 had nothing to do with the club giving him an extended vacation.
Konsa most frequently plays as a RCB but has deputized at RB for both Villa and England when needed. I thought he had an excellent World Cup — he was strong defensively and impressive on the ball, a better passer than I realized. He’s a solid, steady player. That’s precisely what Arsenal need to navigate through William Saliba’s absence. Konsa doesn’t really get forward when deployed at RB, so hopefully Ben White stays fit while Jurrien Timber recovers. If / when Konsa does line up at right back, you’d expect Mikel Arteta to adjust the lineup and tactics elsewhere get more guys forward in other areas of the field.
£40-60M seems to be the going rate for a Premier League-ready player. It’s not a small sum to pay for a 28-year old but sometimes needs must. Arsenal have their sights set on another Premier League title and no matter what you think of Cristhian Mosquera, the club need another right-sided CB. For what it’s worth, the age curve for defenders skews a bit older, so I’m not terribly concerned that the new 4 or 5-year contract the club hand Konsa will become an issue down the road. He’ll be an effective player for the length of it.
It’s not the flashiest, most exciting purchase Arsenal will ever make, but it’s a pragmatic one that provides immediate relief from a tough injury situation and adds a quality defender to the roster. It’s good business.
