Aston Villa defender Ezri Konsa has praised the impact that Unai Emery has had on him, after he received his first call-up to the senior England squad this week.
The 26-year-old has been consistently excellent for us for some time now, and although it has long been argued that he deserved an England call-up, he has certainly continued to improve and develop under Emery over the past 12 months.
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Particularly so far this season in the absence of Tyrone Mings due to his injury, Konsa has stepped up again both in terms of his performance level and showing different attributes including leadership, and he has unsurprisingly revealed that Emery has been pivotal in that process for him.
The Villa centre-half has been an almost ever-present this season having only been rested for one game and featured in 19 across all competitions, and in addition to building a strong partnership with summer signing Pau Torres, he has shown his tactical intelligence and versatility by playing at right-back when needed too.
Combined with his speed, reading of the game, positioning and awareness, as well as his composure in possession and technical ability in his distribution, Konsa has it all, and it’s hoped he can go on to showcase that quality on the international stage too now by becoming a mainstay in the England set-up.
“His [Emery’s] CV speaks for itself, he has won European trophies,” Konsa said, as quoted by BirminghamLive. “When I heard he was coming in I was really excited and I knew that I would excel under a manager like Unai. He has really developed me into a man. I was a man, but now I feel like a man on the pitch. I’m becoming a leader and he has helped me in ways that I can’t explain.
“On the ball, being in the positions, believing in myself and helping others around me. I think the boss at Villa has really demanded that off me. It’s always in my head [being a leader] going into games and doing it on a weekly basis.
“Only in the last two years have we excelled at Villa and that has helped me become the player I am today. I knew my time would come. I was patient and I am proud. Me and my family are really happy.”
Meanwhile, Konsa was also keen to praise the influence of Mings on his game, as although we’ve missed his leadership and organisation at the back this season, we’ve been able to find a solution with our new centre-half pairing.
The England international will no doubt have been an important presence alongside Konsa in training to help him improve his all-round game, and so the latter would have known what was needed after Mings’ injury setback to fill that void and ensure his absence wasn’t felt as strongly as we initially feared.
It was also nice to hear Konsa reveal that Mings had been in touch to congratulate him on the news, as have many of his Villa teammates on social media, and that goes back to the long wait he’s had to get this recognition, which is undoubtedly fully deserved and long overdue.
“I am bit quiet, but that’s something I have wanted to work on for a while,” he added. “Playing alongside Tyrone Mings at Villa, he was always that leader for me and the rest of the boys. Him not being able to play for the rest of the season, I feel like it is my responsibility to do that and I am trying and I am learning.
“We’ve always been close since he joined Villa, on and off the pitch. For me, it was just watching him in training and in matchdays, the way he helps players and the way he guides players.
“Everyone is really fond of him and it is really unfortunate that he is not going to be able to play for the rest of the season, but I have taken a lot from my days playing with him. I have been able to become more of a leader with the players around me and it has really helped me a lot.
“Tyrone sent me a message saying congratulations and told me to enjoy it.”
Ezri is like water [ Bruce Lee analogy ] . I couldn’t be happier for his well deserved call up.
I would like to see Pau follow his mark and stop ball watching. His head is in the clouds, dreaming of that beautiful assist. Time to rule the roost. Pau has all the tools.
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