Aston Villa defender Ezra Konsa to be given England starting chance v Bosnia
Ezra Konsa’s form for Aston Villa should earn him a place in England’s starting line-up to face Bosnia and Herzegovina in their first pre-EURO 2024 friendly on 3 June.
The centre-back, who has deputised at right-back for much of the previous Premier League campaign, made 35 starts as Unai Emery’s side secured fourth place and Champions League football.
Named in Gareth Southgate’s 33-player provisional squad before this summer’s European Championships, Konsa is one of several players who could still have a question mark next to his name.
However, his imperious form this season, twice appearing in SofaScore’s team of the week, and ability to play in two positions should guarantee him a place on the plane, and at the very least a starting berth against Bosnia on Monday night.
Aston Villa star Konsa a must-pick for Southgate’s England
Villa’s run to the Champions League has been built on the rock-solid form of players like Konsa, who was a near-ever-present in the Premier League last season.
His overall SofaScore rating of 6.94 may not sound that impressive, but that’s having only dropped below 6.0 once and recording ratings close to his season high of 7.9 against West Ham in October most weeks.
Across the Premier League, both English domestic cups and the UEFA Conference League this season, Konsa has recovered 4.1 balls per 90, on top of making 1.9 clearances and 1.5 tackles in every game.
With the ball at his feet – a crucial aspect in the way Southgate will set up his England side – Konsa has a pass accuracy of 92 per cent, nailing 56 per cent of both long balls and chipped passes to boot.
Taking just over 70 touches per match, Konsa won dribbles at a rate of 76 per cent; 3.9 ground duels per game, and has been equally comfortable collating these numbers at both centre-back and right-back.
His England debut came at the latter – recording a pass accuracy of 89 per cent and winning three ground duels from seven after replacing Kyle Walker 20 minutes into March’s friendly against Brazil.
Deputising for Walker – particularly with Kieran Trippier and Trent Alexander-Arnold set to be used at left-back and in midfield respectively – could be Konsa’s best bet of booking a plane ticket to France.
If Southgate wants a solid option versatile enough to excel in two positions, he would be wise to start the 26-year-old in either defensive area at Wembley on Monday.
In other Aston Villa news, Unai Emery is set to make a call over Jhon Duran’s future at Villa Park after new updates emerged at Chelsea.
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