During an appearance on the Villa View podcast, journalist Dan Bardell slammed Aston Villa defender Ezri Konsa for his poor start to the Premier League season.
So far this term, the Villans have struggled to find their form after bringing in a number of signings including Boubacar Kamara, Diego Carlos and Leander Dendoncker – as well as Philippe Coutinho on a permanent deal.
With Carlos picking up a long-term injury, they have now been forced into partnering Konsa with Tyrone Mings, who had become a backup option following the Brazilian’s arrival. They have now lost three of their last four games, including a 3-1 defeat to Crystal Palace after leading early on.
As a result, Bardell recently claimed Konsa has not been very good this season, and instead of answering the problems the team has, he is just creating more issues for the team and Steven Gerrard.
Bardell said on the Villa View podcast: “I’ve been very heavily critical of Konsa, I don’t think he’s been good. I think he’s caused Villa more problems than things he’s solved.”
TIF Thoughts on Ezri Konsa…
Villa are in desperate need to improve their form this season or they could find themselves in the middle of a relegation battle despite spending another £63m this summer. It was unlucky they lost Carlos so early in the season, but Konsa needs to be better – or dropped as soon as possible.
To his credit, Bardell went on to praise the defender’s display against Manchester City, so all concerned will be hoping he has turned something of a corner. That said, it must be difficult for the 24-year-old to massively impress while the team’s form remains poor.
So far this season, he has played in all six of their Premier League games, playing the full 90 minutes in five but failed to keep a single clean sheet so far. While there are other players that are also responsible for this, the stats suggest Konsa has been particularly poor, as he currently ranks in the 33rd percentile for interceptions and in the 2nd for clearances per game compared to other Premier League defenders this term.
On deadline day, Villa managed to bring in Jan Bednarek on loan, and this could be a great signing as he has plenty of top-flight experience and could challenge Konsa, as he ranks in the 96th percentile for interceptions and in the 90th for blocks per game over the past year.
So we wouldn’t be surprised if Gerrard feels Konsa needs to be dropped, and Bednarek could be the man to step in until Carlos returns.
Should Villa drop Konsa?Yes
No
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