Ezri Konsa’s move to Arsenal is now close to completion, bringing an end to a seven-year spell in which he developed from a talented young signing into one of the most reliable centre-backs in the Premier League.
It is a good fee for a 28-year-old with two years remaining on his contract, particularly when Villa had already put a new deal on the table that Konsa had not signed, but the financial logic behind accepting an offer and the impact of losing the player are two completely different conversations.
Villa signed Konsa from Brentford in 2019, when the club had only just returned to the Premier League and survival was the immediate objective, and he leaves after helping them qualify for Europe in four consecutive seasons, reach the Champions League twice and lift a European trophy.
He has grown alongside Aston Villa, becoming an England international, playing at a World Cup and establishing himself as one of the senior figures within Unai Emery’s dressing room, which is why his departure will be so difficult to absorb even if the money makes sense from a business perspective.
There have been more glamorous players at Villa during that period, but very few have offered the consistency Konsa has, particularly over the last three seasons when the demands placed upon the defenders have increased significantly under Emery.
Villa’s defensive line is aggressive, the distances between players can be enormous and the centre-backs are regularly asked to defend large spaces without the protection they would receive in a more cautious team. Konsa’s pace, judgement and ability in one-against-one situations made him ideally suited to that system, because he could deal with danger without constantly needing to make dramatic tackles or last-ditch interventions.
He is also capable of playing at right-back, which has given Emery another option during difficult periods, although Konsa has always made it clear that he sees himself as a central defender and that remains the position in which he has produced his best football.
From Konsa’s perspective, the move is understandable, even though that will not make it any easier for Villa supporters to accept.
He already lives in London and has strong family ties to the area, so this is not a move that requires him to completely uproot his life or take his family into an unfamiliar environment. He is effectively returning to the part of the country where he grew up, joining a club competing for the biggest trophies and doing so at the point when his reputation has never been higher.
That personal element should not be ignored when assessing why Arsenal appeals to him, because footballers do not make these decisions purely by looking at league tables or wage offers. Konsa will have considered where he and his family want to live, the stage of his career he has reached and whether another opportunity of this size would arrive again.
He is entering what should be the prime years of his career, Arsenal are challenging at the top end of the Premier League and, with only two years remaining on his Villa contract, this was probably the moment when he either committed the remainder of those peak years to Villa or explored what else was available.
I do not blame Konsa for keeping his options open, particularly after watching several important teammates leave during the summer. Players have short careers, they understand when their stock is at its highest and they will always assess whether another move gives them a better chance of collecting the biggest honours.
The frustration is what his departure represents for Aston Villa, because this is no longer one isolated sale within a settled squad. Morgan Rogers, Youri Tielemans and Lucas Digne have already gone, while Emi Martinez and Ollie Watkins have also faced questions over their futures, meaning Emery is once again being asked to rebuild important sections of his team while trying to compete at the highest level.
Villa knew Konsa’s contractual situation was becoming a problem, because two years remaining is the point when clubs either secure a player’s future or begin to consider a sale. Allowing him to enter the final year of his contract would have weakened their position significantly, while persuading him to sign a new deal was always going to be difficult once Arsenal’s interest became serious.
That does not mean Villa should simply accept that he cannot be adequately replaced.
Konsa understood Emery’s methods, had established partnerships with Matty Cash, Pau Torres and Tyrone Mings, and could be trusted in some of the most demanding defensive situations Villa face. His replacement therefore cannot simply be another body added to the squad, because Villa are losing quality, experience, speed, versatility and a player who knew exactly what was expected of him.
The club have done extremely well to turn a player bought for around £12million into a sale worth several times that amount, and nobody could dispute the development work carried out by Villa during his time at the club, but the success of the transfer will ultimately be judged by what Roberto Olabe, Emery and Damian Vidagany do next.
Villa cannot afford to replace Konsa with a short-term squad option and hope Emery finds a way to compensate, because the entire purpose of selling a valuable player should be to create the opportunity to identify the next one before his reputation and valuation reach the same level.
That may mean signing somebody younger and less proven, but the profile has to be right. Villa need a defender with the athleticism to handle Emery’s high line, the composure to play through pressure and the potential to become a major part of the team rather than somebody brought in merely because they are available.
Konsa will leave Aston Villa as one of the best signings made during the club’s modern era, having arrived when Villa were trying to establish themselves in the Premier League and departed with the club operating on a completely different level.
Arsenal are acquiring a defender ready to help them immediately, while Villa are losing somebody whose importance has sometimes only been fully appreciated when he has not been available.
The fee may be defensible, the reasons behind Konsa’s decision may be understandable and his connections to London make the move completely logical from a personal perspective, but none of that changes the size of the job Villa now have to get his replacement right.
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