Ian Wright gushes over Aston Villa defender Ezri Konsa v Bournemouth
Ezri Konsa was among the pick of the bunch for Aston Villa as they secured a 2-2 draw against Bournemouth in the Premier League on Sunday.
The 26-year-old, who’s a centre-back by trade, did not look out of place at all playing as a right full-back and nullified the threat posed by Antoine Semenyo.
Konsa was on the pitch for 74 minutes and it can be argued that he was the best player for Unai Emery’s side.
Speaking on the Kelly and Wrighty Show (04 December, 14:33), Wright said: “Ezri Konsa has been having a fantastic season.”
The Englishman was absolutely terrific against the Cherries, especially when it came to his defending.
According to Sofascore, he won 11/11 of his attempted ground duels – a 100 per cent success rate and achieved the same with his aerial duels – winning all four of them.
He was also impressive at going past players as he completed both of his attempted take ons – something that’s imperative for a full-back.
Emery will be thrilled with his passing as well as he boasted a pass accuracy of 83 per cent and managed a 100 per cent accuracy when it came to long passes.
He even made five tackles during the time he was on the pitch, including one last-man challenge, which if he hadn’t done it, would probably have seen Bournemouth scoring another goal.
Konsa has undoubtedly been one of the most improved players under Emery and Gareth Southgate not only needs to hand him his England debut but also ensure that he’s a regular part of his squad and on the plane for EURO 2024.
In other Aston Villa news, a rising star has given Unai Emery some food for thought and his Aston Villa debut will surely be on the horizon in the coming weeks.