Aston Villa journalist Ashley Preece has been sharing his praise for Villa defender Ezri Konsa.
This comes after Preece recently made an appearance on the Birmingham Mail’s Claret & Blue Podcast where he spoke about a number of topics concerning Dean Smith’s side.
On the subject of Konsa, Preece had this to say on the defender.
He said: “He’s just turned 23, and this time last year, he wasn’t getting a kick, [Bjorn] Engels was keeping him out.
“[Konsa is] one of Villa’s most improved players for me, looks every bit a classy centre-half and England, [he’s] their centre-back for the future, I’ll say that now, definitely, the way he’s going on. [He’s] biding his time, still learning the game but he’s soaking up the knowledge from [John Terry] and [Tyrone] Mings next to him.
“Scary prospect for me, Konsa, I really do think that. Some signing that, £12m. Centre-halves are hard to buy as well, just ask [your] Man Citys and whatnot, they’re shelling out millions for centre-halves and I think Villa have got a good ‘un, here.”
Konsa signed to the club back in the 2019 summer transfer window from Championship side Brentford for £11.97 million. Since then, the 23-year-old, who is currently valued at £10.8 million, has made 39 appearances for Dean Smith’s side, in which he has scored three goals and provided two assists.
TIF Thoughts on Ashley Preece’s comments on Konsa…
It’s clear from what Preece had to say in the podcast that he has a very high opinion of Konsa and thinks he has improved massively since he arrived at Villa Park.
Do you think Konsa has improved since last season?
Yes
No
Konsa has been in good form for Villa so far this season, with WhoScored giving him a season rating of 7.04/10 for his performances in the seven league appearances he’s made.
Compare this current season rating to his rating from last season of 6.47/10, and this shows that there has indeed been a vast improvement from Konsa in his Premier League performances so far this term, which is fantastic to see.
Hopefully, Konsa can continue having a good season for Villa and if he does, perhaps he could be in contention for his first call-up to the senior England squad.