Credit: Imago

James Barker

Sat 30 May 2026 20:10, UK

Modou Cisse had an excellent 2025-26 season out on loan with LASK, with the returning Aston Villa defender even posting some stronger numbers than Ezri Konsa.

Having penned a pre-contract agreement with Aston Villa last summer, Cisse was straight back out the Villa Park exit door as quickly as he arrived.

Indeed, he would spend the 2025-26 campaign on loan with Austrian outfit LASK, which is the team that Villa had poached his signature from.

Despite still only being 20, the Senegalese centre-back will now return to the West Midlands having established himself as one of the best in his position in Austrian football.

As such, he’s now expected to be given a big chance to shine during Aston Villa’s pre-season ahead of the 2026-27 campaign.

How do Modou Cisse & Ezri Konsa’s stats compare?

Cisse has been tipped for a first-team role with Aston Villa, and it’s not hard to see why.

Turning out 30 times for LASK in 2025-26, he scored three goals and provided a further three assists in all competitions, showing he’s a clear threat at the attacking end of the pitch.

However, if he’s going to make his Villa Park story a successful one, then he’s going to have to compete with some top centre-backs.

Konsa is arguably Villa’s best central defender, and so it’s incredibly difficult not to get very excited about Cisse’s potential when you compare their respective league stats from this past 2025-26 season.

As per FotMob, Cisse created seven chances, registered 0.41 shots per 90, completed 0.93 successful tackles per game and made 6.49 clearances per game in the Austrian Bundesliga.

In those same categories meanwhile, Konsa created five chances, took 0.21 shots per game, won 0.24 tackles per game and made 3.62 clearances per game respectively in the Premier League.

Modou Keba Cisse [LASK] vs Hartberg pic.twitter.com/pzj0HpSoz2

— 🇸🇳🎥⭐️⭐️ (@SenegalComps) December 7, 2025

Meanwhile, Cisse averaged 0.29 blocks, 0.98 interceptions, 3.47 headed clearances and played 4.86 accurate long balls per game in 2025-26.

Konsa, on the other hand, made 0.12 blocks, 0.68 interceptions, 1.63 headed clearances and registered 1.81 long balls per 90 respectively.

Now naturally, the Premier League is a higher standard than the Austrian Bundesliga, but LASK one the Austrian league last term, and so it’s not as though they were constantly on the back foot, thus potentially inflating Cisse’s defensive numbers.

However, to be posting the kind of numbers that he did, and to be considerably better than many of Konsa’s, goes some way to painting the picture of how much talent this youngster has in his boots.

What are Cisse’s chances of making Aston Villa side next season?

Outside of Konsa, Aston Villa’s centre-back options shouldn’t be viewed as insurmountable for Cisse next season.

Pau Torres is a solid player, but the Spaniard has had his injury problems during his time at Villa Park, and has also been linked with a move away in recent times.

Meanwhile, Tyrone Mings is now 33 and is firmly in the twilight of his career, with his days as a viable starting player now looking past the long-time Villa servant.

Victor Lindelof has blown hot and cold, with Unai Emery even experimenting with him in central midfield towards the end of last term, and Yeimar Mosquera still looks some way off being ready for the first-team.

Therefore, if he banks a strong pre-season campaign, Cisse does actually hold a strong chance of being a backup central defender at worst for Villa next season, as Emery is likely to want to bring in one or two in this position this summer as well.