'I'd say to Ezri Konsa...' - Aston Villa insider reacts after Arsenal terms agreed

Aston Villa should make it clear to Ezri Konsa that a move to Arsenal could potentially affect his place in the England team.

That is the opinion of former senior Villa scout, Bryan King, speaking exclusively to Football Insider.

The 28-year-old is close to joining the Premier League champions in a deal worth around £60million after Football Insider exclusively revealed last Friday that he had agreed terms with the club.

Arsenal have been keen to add the experience and quality of Konsa to their backline, in an attempt to both replace William Saliba in his absence and help ease the burden on Ben White and Jurrien Timber at right-back.

But for weeks, there has been a big difference in valuations between the clubs, with the Villans sticking to their £60m price tag while Arsenal wanted to pay closer to £40m.

It appears a breakthrough has been made, however, with the defender now expected to make the move in the coming days.

Aston Villa have had a 'very strange summer'

Konsa's exit will undoubtedly be yet another blow for Unai Emery and his Villa team.

The Spaniard has already lost several key players this summer, with Youri Tielemans, Morgan Rogers and Lucas Digne all exiting.

Emi Martinez could still leave, while Ollie Watkins is subject to a move by Al Hilal and Emi Buendia has less than a year remaining on his contract.

Konsa's exit would be seriously damaging, and make it incredibly difficult to find a replacement.

"I would say to Konsa: 'Now listen, mate, you're playing for England, you've got that cap because you played well, you've got that position to play for England because of the performances you've done with Aston Villa,'" King told Football Insider.

"'Now, let's get the job done this season.' I want to see Aston Villa, if in their thinking, they should be finishing second or third here, not fourth or fifth. They should be finishing second, third.

"They should be challenging Manchester City here. But, I think it's a very, very strange transfer summer they've had, to let such good players go."

Would Konsa be making a mistake by joining Arsenal?

Konsa will be well aware that if he joins Arsenal, his time in the starting line-up is almost certainly on a time limit.

Saliba is expected to be back in action before the end of the year, and remains among the world's best centre-backs.

On the right, too, it appears a waiting game before Timber is back in full flight and in the Arsenal team.

But the reason why Konsa will still make the move if he is able even despite of that, is for the chance to lift both the Premier League and the Champions League in the final years of his career.