Ezri Konsa’s potential Aston Villa departure could be considerably more damaging than the transfer fee alone suggests, with the numbers underlining just how important the England defender has become to Unai Emery.
Arsenal are now closing in on a deal for the 28-year-old after talks between the clubs accelerated and ownership-level dialogue helped narrow their previous valuation gap.
Read Aston Villa reported earlier on Wednesday that Arsenal had made a significant breakthrough in negotiations, leaving Villa facing the possibility of losing another established starter.
Dig deeper into Villa’s results during Konsa’s time at the club and the potential cost becomes even clearer.
Aston Villa win rate drops sharply without Ezri Konsa
Read Aston Villa analysis of results during Konsa’s Villa career puts their win percentage across all competitions at 49.0% when he plays.
Without him, it falls to 35.3%.
That is a difference of 13.7 percentage points.
The contrast becomes even greater when isolating Premier League matches.
Villa have won 45% of league games featuring Konsa, compared with only 28.1% when he has not played.
That gap of almost 17 percentage points cannot be attributed solely to one defender. Different opponents, injuries elsewhere in the squad and Villa’s development under several managers all influence the sample.
But such a sustained difference is difficult to dismiss completely.
Konsa has developed into one of Emery’s most reliable defenders, combining availability with the ability to operate centrally or at right-back.
The Athletic reports Arsenal are now closing in on his signature, with his versatility particularly attractive to Mikel Arteta.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka does not solve the Konsa problem
Villa have already started reshaping their defence.
Matteo Ruggeri has arrived to replace Lucas Digne, while Villa have agreed a deal to sign Aaron Wan-Bissaka from West Ham.
Wan-Bissaka provides greater depth at right-back, but his arrival should not be confused with replacing everything Konsa gives Emery.
Konsa’s primary value remains at centre-back, where his recovery pace, composure and ability to defend large spaces have made him particularly suited to Villa’s aggressive defensive structure.
He also brings vast Premier League experience. Konsa has accumulated more than 200 league appearances for Villa since arriving from Brentford in 2019, becoming an established England international in the process. His long-term Premier League record is documented by the Premier League’s official player database.
Losing Morgan Rogers, Youri Tielemans and Digne has already forced Emery to rebuild significant areas of his side.
Konsa departing would be different again.
Villa could receive another substantial transfer fee, but replacing a defender whose absence has coincided with such a sizeable drop in results may prove considerably harder than replacing his name on the teamsheet.
