We have agreed a deal to sign Ezri Konsa from Aston Villa, ending a pursuit that has run the length of the summer. Fabrizio Romano and the Athletic's David Ornstein both reported the agreement on August 19, with the fee set at £50m plus add-ons, and Konsa is scheduled for a medical on Thursday before the transfer is completed.
The 28-year-old said his goodbyes to his Villa teammates on Wednesday and has agreed a long-term contract with us. Sky Sports News reported that personal terms were settled before the clubs closed the gap on valuation, with the final breakthrough coming after talks reached ownership level at both clubs.
Why we moved for Konsa
The signing is a direct response to our defensive injury situation. William Saliba is out for an extended period with a back problem, and Jurrien Timber is still working back from a groin issue that flared over the summer. That left us thin at the back heading into the season, and Konsa's ability to cover both centre-back and right-back is the specific reason he sat at the top of the shortlist rather than an out-and-out centre-half.
Mikel Arteta confirmed after the Community Shield win over Manchester City that the club had been working "for weeks" to strengthen the defence. Konsa is the answer to that work. He gives us a Premier League-proven option alongside Gabriel while Saliba recovers, and an alternative to Ben White at right-back while Timber is managed back to fitness.
What we are getting
Konsa has made 286 appearances for Villa since arriving from Brentford in 2019 and was part of the side that won the Europa League last season. He started every match for England at the World Cup this summer until the semi-final defeat to Argentina, when he came on as a substitute. He is an established international arriving at his peak rather than a project, which matters in a window where the alternative targets carried more risk.
He is also our fifth signing of the summer, following Bruno Guimaraes, Christos Tzolis, Piero Hincapie and Illan Meslier. For a defence that conceded the fewest goals in the division last season, adding this level of depth before the window shuts is exactly the kind of business we needed once Saliba's injury changed the picture.
The pursuit of Jarell Quansah, our other centre-back option, is over. Bayer Leverkusen told us the England defender was not for sale, and the Konsa agreement is us moving decisively to the target we wanted most.
Assuming the medical throws up no problems, Konsa will complete his move before the window closes. Whether the paperwork clears in time for him to be registered for Friday's Premier League opener against Coventry is a separate question: Premier League rules require a new signing's documents to be submitted by noon on the day before a match, and with the medical set for Thursday, that is a tight deadline to meet. His debut may have to wait. After a summer of chasing this one, we have got it done with days to spare.