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Russell Slade claims Liverpool and Tottenham target Ezri Konsa in ‘same bracket’ as Harry Kane

Cardiff City manager Russell Slade celebrates after the match (Reuters)
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Aston Villa defender Ezri Konsa is going from strength to strength this season – and that ultimately means interest is mounting.

Konsa has been hailed as ‘brilliant’ by Jamie Carragher having turned in consistently excellent performances for Villa this season.

The £12million signing from Brentford in 2019 has emerged as Tyrone Mings’ centre back partner at Villa, and England recognition can’t be far away.

Konsa can play for Portugal, DR Congo and Angola, meaning there is a real tug of war for his international allegiance.

In terms of Konsa’s club future, The Athletic report that both Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur want to sign Konsa this summer having been impressed with his performances this term.

Konsa is a boyhood Tottenham fan, so a move to Spurs may well appeal, and being compared to Harry Kane should delight him too.

That’s the stance of Russell Slade, who brought Konsa into the first team at Charlton having risen through their ranks.

Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images

Slade has told The Scottish Sun that the 23-year-old is ‘in the same bracket’ as Kane, having managed him at Leyton Orient, believing that the defender had ‘something different’ about him, something which he saw in Kane at a young age too – and who knows, maybe they will be teammates for club and country in the near future.

“There were two youth players who were outstanding when I took over at Charlton and that’s why I wanted them training with us and involved with the first team,” said Slade. “The two were Konsa, who is at Aston Villa, and Joe Aribo. They looked so promising and I was really impressed when I first caught a glimpse of them at the club.”

“I gave Harry Kane his debut at 17 when he was on loan at Leyton Orient and Konsa and Aribo were in the same bracket for me. They just had something different about them,” he added.

BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 21: Ezri Konsa of Aston Villa in action during the Premier League match between Aston Villa and Leicester City at Villa Park on February 21, 2021 in Birmingham, England. Sporting stadiums around the UK remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Neville Williams/Aston Villa FC via Getty Images)
Photo by Neville Williams/Aston Villa FC via Getty Images