Ezri Konsa is arguably having the best season of his career for Aston Villa and his old manager Dean Smith has admitted he’s been a big fan of the 26-year-old for some time.
Smith was speaking to The Telegraph and recalling his relationship with the centre-back.
It was Dean Smith who originally brought Konsa to Aston Villa back in 2019 from Brentford for £12m.
At the time, only Chris Mepham had departed the club for a larger fee although Neal Maupay’s move to Brighton would trump that number just a month later.
Konsa only spent a year at Brentford after Smith signed him from Charlton, however, he made the move to Aston Villa midway through the season.
After managing him just 11 times in the Championship, Smith decided Konsa was ready to make the jump up to the Premier League just a year later.
Konsa is now in his fifth campaign at Villa Park and has been going from strength to strength in that time.
He played every league game last year and was only left out of the starting line-up once.
This year he’s been ever-present and with Tyrone Mings suffering an awful injury in the opening game against Newcastle, he’s stepped up in his absence.
Alongside new signing Pau Torres and the returning Diego Carlos, Konsa has led by example.
So much so, that with the European Championships just around the corner next summer, Konsa is now firmly on Gareth Southgate’s radar.
Smith raves about Villa star Konsa
Speaking about his relationships with his old players, Smith said: “I keep in touch with a lot of them. Ezri [Konsa], Jack [Grealish], Dibu [Martínez] and it’s always pleasing to see them get in the national team squads.
“I was really pleased to see Ezri get in the last England squad. I’ve been banging his drum for a long time, I think he’s a Rolls Royce of a player.
“A bit like Ollie, who I took from Exeter for £1.3 million, I signed Ezri for Brentford, from Charlton, and then for Villa.
“He made a big mistake against Newcastle in the first game of the season and I texted him after saying: ‘It’s always what you do next. You don’t see too many mistakes from him, he just keeps improving.”
Konsa is becoming key to Emery’s impressive campaign
The Ezri Konsa that Dean Smith signed back in 2019 for Aston Villa has developed into a much more rounded player at this point.
According to FBRef, he’s among the top 10% of centre-backs in Europe’s top five leagues for pass completion rate.
Emery has instructed his Villa side to advance the ball quickly through the centre, with Ollie Watkins and Moussa Diaby using their exceptional pace to catch defence off guard.
With Emi Martinez able to trust Konsa in possession, the 26-year-old is now regularly starting attacks.
On the right side of defence, Konsa is averaging nearly 70 touches per match and has an 87% pass completion rate when it comes to finding a teammate in the opposition half.
He also wins nearly 80% of his duels against opposition attackers meaning when he’s up against rival forwards, more often than not he’s winning the ball back.
Konsa has helped Villa take some huge scalps this season and it’s why the club are suddenly in a race for a Champions League place.
The 26-year-old’s success has seen other defenders falling out of favour with Clement Lenglet’s arrival in the summer looking like an awful move for the Frenchman.
Emery isn’t even speaking to another of Villa’s defenders, but while Konsa is fit and flying, he probably feels he does not need to.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
