Arsenal have agreed a deal to sign Aston Villa defender Ezri Konsa for £51million ($69.4m) plus add-ons.
Konsa said goodbye to his Villa team-mates on Wednesday and is expected to undergo a medical on Thursday.
The Athletic reported earlier on Wednesday that Arsenal were closing in on a deal for the England international. The club are seeking defensive reinforcement with William Saliba and Jurrien Timber currently sidelined with injuries.
Konsa, 28, can play at both centre-back and right-back. He has been high on Arsenal’s target list all summer.
Work is now advancing with Villa to finalise the move after dialogue at ownership level to reduce the valuation gap for the defender.
Konsa returned to Villa for pre-season on Monday after being given extended time off following the World Cup.
The Athletic reported on Friday that Arsenal also held an interest in Bayer Leverkusen defender Jarell Quansah as they consider their options at the back this summer.
Konsa has two years remaining on his Villa contract, having signed a five-year deal in September 2023.
The defender was an important member of England’s squad which reached the World Cup semi-finals this summer. He started every match until the 2-1 defeat to Argentina in the last-four stage, when he appeared as a 72nd-minute substitute.
He was typically deployed in the centre of defence, but also provided right-back cover following Quansah’s two-match suspension, a position he has also covered for Villa.
Konsa has been a mainstay in Unai Emery’s Villa squad in recent years which has consistently competed at the top end of the Premier League and in Europe.
He made 48 appearances in all competitions last season as Villa won the Europa League and finished fourth in the Premier League.
In the 2024-25 campaign, Konsa started all but one of Villa’s Champions League fixtures as they reached the quarter-finals, where they were beaten by eventual winners Paris Saint-Germain.
Konsa has made 286 appearances for the club since joining from Brentford in 2019.
In analysis by Arsenal correspondent Art de Roche, Arsenal’s summer-long interest in Konsa after Saliba’s back injury was a sign of Mikel Arteta’s desire to be well stocked with quality options across the pitch throughout the course of the 2026-27 season.
The Arsenal manager could have used Cristhian Mosquera and Ben White as covering centre-backs in Saliba’s absence, but Timber not yet returning from his groin injury may have made the backline a more pressing issue.
Speaking ahead of their Community Shield win over Manchester City, Arteta said: “We want to improve and evolve the squad. In order to do that we have detected some areas that can be strengthened and that is what we are trying to do.”
Reports of Arsenal’s interest in Konsa were met with debate as to whether a 28-year-old centre-back would be necessary at a relatively high price point when they had shown interest in other defensive profiles at the start of the window.
Source: www.nytimes.com — Read the original article
Leave a Comment