Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly keeping tabs on Aston Villa defender Ezri Konsa, who has impressed heavily this season.
According to a report from The Athletic, reigning Premier League champions Liverpool and rivals Tottenham Hotspur are closely watching Aston Villa’s defensive mainstay Ezri Konsa.
A product of the Charlton Athletic youth academy, Konsa rose through the ranks and went on to make over 80 first-team appearances for the Addicks before making the switch to Brentford in 2018. An impressive campaign with the Bees led to a summer transfer to Aston Villa in 2019 in a deal worth £12 million.
Since joining, the 23-year-old has become a mainstay at the back for Dean Smith’s side, racking up 52 appearances, in which he has scored four goals and set up two more. Konsa has been pretty much an ever-present figure for Aston Villa in the Premier League this term, missing just two games, helping them to the second-best defensive record this term.
Konsa’s rise to prominence hasn’t gone unnoticed, with The Athletic’s David Ornstein now claiming that both Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur are keeping tabs on the Englishman as they look to bolster their defensive options in the upcoming transfer window.
Liverpool’s injury woes in the centre-back department this season are well-known. Having been without Joe Gomez, Virgil van Dijk and Joel Matip for large parts of the campaign, Jurgen Klopp brought in Ben Davies in the winter transfer window while also signing Ozan Kabak on loan, with an option to make the transfer permanent.
Nevertheless, given Matip’s track record with injuries, adding another reliable centre-back in the summer would be a sensible move for the Merseyside giants. And Konsa, who has proven his mettle in the Premier League and has his best years ahead of him, would be a viable option.
However, Tottenham, too, are monitoring the 23-year-old Aston Villa defender. In fact, the north Londoners had been considering making a move for him in 2019 back when there was some uncertainty over the future of Toby Alderweireld at the club.
Premier League 2020/21 mid-season review: Tottenham Hotspur
Having made a solid start to the season, Tottenham have struggled of late, with both defence and attack struggling to make the kind of impact expected of them. The aforementioned Alderweireld isn’t getting any younger while the likes of Davinson Sanchez and Eric Dier haven’t been convincing enough.
In addition, new signing Joe Rodon has hardly got a look-in under Jose Mourinho. So, Tottenham wanting to strengthen their defensive unit in the summer makes a lot of sense and Konsa would be an option that the club has vetted before and his since gone on to prove himself in the Premier League.
Konsa’s contract with Aston Villa runs till the summer of 2023, with the club hoping to get him to sign an extension. But, with both Liverpool and Tottenham interested, it will be interesting to see if either club launches the offensive to sign him up at the end of the season.
