Ezri Konsa’s rise to the lofty heights of the Premier League has become one of the most overlooked journeys of a young Englishman to date.
Everyone knows the tax that comes with talented English players, yet the Newham-born centre back has seen little hype surrounding his name.
One of the first names on the team sheet, Konsa has cemented his place in Aston Villa’s defence, now often referred to as the club’s best centre back even with the presence of England regular and club-captain Tyrone Mings.
So why, despite the high praise from the fans who watch his side week-in week-out, has Konsa been pushed so far to the side when it comes to England squad selections?
Especially with a lot of the favourite England centre back selections heavily out of form and favour with their clubs.
As of December 4, the Londoner is the defender who’s been dribbled past least in the Premier League per 90 since the start of last season, joint with West Ham United’s Kurt Zouma, with 0.12.
Embed from Getty ImagesOn top of this, a brace in Sunday’s game against Leicester City made him the first Aston Villa defender to score a brace in the Premier League since Ciaran Clark against Arsenal in November 2010.
These are hardly stats that Gareth Southgate can ignore.
As Harry Maguire continues to underperform for Manchester United, and John Stones finds himself starved of game time this season, Southgate’s quote that he picks players based on form doesn’t seem to be living up to it’s claim.
Maguire’s Man United have only managed three clean sheets so far this season, with poor positioning and a particularly bad performance against Watford being the United captain’s main talking points so far this season.
Stones has been consistently overlooked by Pep Guardiola so far this campaign, only playing four times in the league for Manchester City.
Despite these two being out of form for a good part of three to four months, the England manager still sees them as the best choices for the job of being the nation’s centre back partnership.
Of the rest of the English defenders, Villa’s No.4 is the one who is seemingly making the most waves at this moment in time.
Part of a recently rejuvenated Villa side under Steven Gerrard, Konsa has been seen as the claret and blue’s best defender by fans for a while now.
Tyrone Mings is a brilliant leader and defender, with outstanding on the ball attributes and plenty of defensive acumen which is what has made him an England regular.
However, the Villa captain can be prone to a mistake or two throughout the season.
Mings has been a shoo-in in this Villans side since joining on loan in January 2019, whereas his counterpart had to battle to secure his place in the back four.
Joining in the summer of 2019 after the club’s promotion to the Premier League, Konsa was reunited with Dean Smith and Richard O’Kelly after they worked together at Brentford.
Competition came mainly from fellow new boy Bjorn Engels, and some from Kortney Hause, for a regular place at the heart of the defence alongside Mings.
At first, it looked as if the ‘Mingels’ partnership would be a longlasting one after some good early performances.
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However, as the season continued, the 24-year-old found himself a trusted member of Dean Smith’s defence.
Having enjoyed a fruitful 2020/21 season with the Villa, starting 36 of the 38 league games and keeping an outstanding 15 clean sheets throughout the campaign, the former Brentford man quickly got fans and some pundits talking about his England chances.
With the Euros possibly coming a season too early for him, with other more established players performing well closer to the time, Konsa missed out on his first England call-up in 2021.
But now, he deserves it.
Ezri Konsa: ‘I haven’t got any secret – it’s just about learning my trade’
With players like Mings, Conor Coady and Ben White continuing to receive call-ups in recent months, Konsa would be justified in feeling hard done by.
Coady was part of a shaky Wolves defence last season which conceded 52 goals (six more than Villa) and kept only ten clean sheets (five less than Villa), although does possess valuable leadership attributes and has been part of an improved Wolves side so far this season.
White started the season very shakily, losing his first three competitive games with Arsenal, conceding nine goals in the process.
His form has picked up in recent months, however, along with the club’s, as he’s formed a reliable partnership with centre back Gabriel.
It’s hard to see what Gareth Southgate doesn’t see in Ezri Konsa, as watching him paints a clear picture of his ability.
A Rolls Royce of a defender, Konsa makes defending look easy, easing people of the ball and putting in crucial blocks with undeniable elegance.
His time will come, his name now firmly on the English central defender map.
Malachi Obrey 
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