Alan Hutton backs Ezri Konsa to fight for his place in Aston Villa team
We’re delighted to welcome former Scotland defender Alan Hutton as our exclusive columnist as each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at Aston Villa…
Alan Hutton has lauded Aston Villa star Ezri Konsa and has backed him to fight for his place in the team for next season.
The former Scottish international described Konsa as “rock” and said that he believes he will be raring to go now he has returned from injury.
Konsa was expected to miss 12-16 weeks after picking up an injury in Villa’s draw with Crystal Palace back in May but made a surprisingly quick recovery and played in Villa’s friendly win over Brisbane Roar on Wednesday (20 July).
“He was a rock when he was playing alongside Tyrone Mings, but they’ve brought [Diego] Carlos into the equation,” he exclusively told Villa News.
“It’s going to be interesting to see who Steven Gerrard goes with, who his number one pairing is.
“There’s no getting away from the fact that at periods last season when Konsa was playing where he was arguably their best defender.
“I keep saying it, but you need competition. If Villa are going to break into the European positions, that is what they need. I’m sure he’ll be ready to fight for that slot.”
What is the best pairing?
Diego Carlos has arrived this summer and lit up Villa’s pre-season, making him the only certainty to start against Bournemouth.
That leaves current Villa captain Tyrone Mings to fight it out with Konsa for who gets to be his partner.
Calum Chambers is also hot on their heels, though he is considered a backup player.
Simply down to the fact that Mings is ahead of Konsa in terms of fitness, he is the more likely of the pair to start the season.
However, if Mings fails to improve on his spotty form from last season, do not be surprised to see Konsa take his place.
In other Aston Villa news, the club’s young stars fired them to a pre-season victory over Brisbane Roar.