The mass exodus from Aston Villa looks set to continue, as Ezri Konsa centre-back nears a move to Arsenal.
Konsa, 28, said his goodbyes to his Villa teammates today ahead of the transfer which is reported to be worth £51m plus add-ons, according to The Athletic.
Villa will not have wanted to relent and sell the England international, particularly after seeing so many key players already depart this summer. However, they did at least manage to secure a very lucrative transfer fee for a player in his situation.
According to Transfermarkt, Konsa will become by far the most expensive defender aged 28 or older when his move to Arsenal is complete. His £51m fixed fee beats the amount paid by AC Milan for Leonardo Bonucci back in 2017 (£36m) by a wide margin, before any add-ons kick in.
Considering Konsa turns 29 in October and only has two years left on his contract, it is more than an acceptable result
If the conditions to trigger the add-ons are met, it should eclipse the amounts paid for other Premier League centre-backs like Jan Paul van Hecke and Maxence Lacroix, who were sold for £52m each to Spurs and Chelsea respectively.
Based on the market Villa are shopping in, it is unlikely any centre-back they could realistically sign to replace Konsa will cost more than they are getting for him.
Of course, his sale will leave a significant void in a Villa defense which already lost Lucas Digne, replacing him with Matteo Ruggeri, whose signing was announced today.
However, it is fair to point out that of Villa’s two starting centre-backs, Pau Torres is more important to Unai Emery’s system, particularly in build-up.
What Konsa specialised in was press resistance, the ability to retain possession under pressure and carry the ball forward. That is important, and it is the skill set which Villa will need to replicate with whoever they sign to replace Konsa.
The club have not been linked with many centre-backs whatsoever during the transfer window. They were connected to Joe Gomez way back in May, and more recently Roger Ibañez, although he then signed a new contract with Al Ahli.
There has been an intriguing link to Bayern Munich’s Kim Min Jae, who eerily fits Konsa’s profile perfectly. In the wake of the news regarding Konsa’s impending transfer, they were also connected to Chelsea’s Tosin Adarabioyo.
With most of Villa’s signings this summer, they have focused on lowering the average of the squad by replacing an outgoing older player with a younger one. Kim Min Jae turns 30 this year while Tosin turns 29, so neither player would track with how the club has operated in this window.
Paying transfer fees for older players is not usually a prudent business decision, but Villa are expected to bring in Aaron Wan-Bissaka, who turns 29 this year, on loan with an option to buy, which can turn into an obligation for a reported £18m.
Villa will have been preparing for Konsa’s departure due to Arsenal’s persistent approaches for the centre-back, so they should have a plan of action to go about replacing him quickly. More reports of potential targets are sure to filter through in the coming days.
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