Although he perhaps often goes under the radar, there is no doubting the importance and quality of Aston Villa defender Ezri Konsa so far this season.
The 26-year-old has been an ever-present in the starting XI across all competitions, which in itself tells us just how important he has become to Unai Emery’s set-up and idea of how he wants us to play.
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Not only is Konsa consistently showing technical quality and composure in his distribution out from the back in our patient and measured approach to breaking teams down, but he’s showing focus, concentration and tactical intelligence to shore things up at the back and keep things tight.
On top of that, particularly now in the absence of Tyrone Mings, it certainly feels as though he is maturing and stepping up into a leadership role, building a new partnership with Pau Torres in the heart of the Villa backline, and becoming an example for the rest of the squad to follow.
As per the statistics below, he was in fine form again in our win over West Ham Utd on Sunday, as he was influential in both phases of the game and even added winning our penalty to his defensive work to make a decisive impact on the game at the other end too.
While he continues to be snubbed for England and perhaps there is a lack of acknowledgment and appreciation of his quality outside of Villa, Konsa has insisted on multiple occasions that he won’t let that distract him, as he’s fully focused on his club form and helping us compete at the top.
He’s a classy operator who fits the Emery style really well, but he combines that with the grit and determination to get stuck in when needed too despite more often than not reading the game superbly to nullify a threat before it even becomes an issue.
Coupled with his versatility to play right-back at times too if needed, Konsa is well established now as a fundamental figure in the Villa XI, and while others may often steal the headlines, there is no doubting just how important and how consistently excellent he has been for us so far this season.
🙌🏽 Ezri Konsa stats vs West Ham:
100% tackles won
96% pass accuracy
69 touches
53/55 passes completed
6/6 ground duels won
3 ball recoveries
2/2 dribbles completed
1 penalty wonAnother brilliant shift. The development, improvement & consistency…another key player who… pic.twitter.com/NoEOBjVNsI
— Talk Villa (@thetalkvilla) October 23, 2023