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Arsenal weigh up bid for Aston Villa defender Ezri Konsa

·By Junior Yekini
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Arsenal weigh up bid for Aston Villa defender Ezri Konsa

Arsenal/X.com

Ezri Konsa is the subject of tentative interest from Arsenal as they weigh up their next move over his Aston Villa and England teammate Morgan Rogers.

The Telegraph has revealed that Villa value Rogers at a British record £130m, considerably more than Arsenal are hoping to pay for him.

It remains to be seen whether Arsenal try to negotiate that valuation down, and it has now emerged that Konsa is also on the radar of the Premier League champions.

Aston Villa do not want to sell Rogers but would need to consider alternative sales to help fund signings if they managed to keep hold of him.

Konsa has two years remaining on his contract at Villa Park and is likely to be valued in the region of £60m by the Midlands club.

That figure is more than Arsenal would want to pay for the 28-year-old.

It remains to be seen whether Arsenal could bid for both Rogers and Konsa, or whether they will only follow up their interest in one of Villa's players.

The interest in Konsa is described as being no more than tentative at this stage.

Villa signed Konsa from Brentford for £12m in 2019, and he has since established himself as one of the most consistent performers in the Premier League.

It is believed Mikel Arteta is behind Arsenal's interest in Konsa, as he looks at ways of building on the club's Premier League title success and reaching the Champions League final.

Konsa's preferred position is in the centre of defence, though he can also fill in at right-back.

He would be viewed as a significant upgrade on Ben White, who can also play both positions but is expected to leave Arsenal this summer.