Arsenal interested in 2nd Aston Villa player

Morgan Rogers may not be the only Aston Villa player of interest to Arsenal this summer, with reports now also linking the Gunners with Ezri Konsa.

Matt Law reports for The Telegraph that Ezri Konsa is the subject of interest from Arsenal, with the defender having two years left on his Aston Villa contract and likely to be valued in the region of £60m.

But that’s already an issue for the Gunners, as £60m is more than they’d want to pay, according to the same report.

With Villa also setting an exceedingly high asking price for Morgan Rogers, Law adds that it remains to be seen whether Arsenal end up bidding for either player.

Law writes that Mikel Arteta is behind Arsenal’s interest in Konsa, but the Gunners’ interest is currently described as being no more than tentative.

Arsenal would presumably be interested in Konsa as a backup centre-back and as an option at right-back. The 28-year-old has made the vast majority of his appearances centrally, but he’s also racked up 66 right-back appearances over the years, so he’d provide cover in both positions.

At the same time, it’s notable that with all of England’s struggles at right-back this World Cup, Konsa has still remained at centre-back in all of his four starts so far.

Arsenal making a serious move for another right-sided defender would presumably depend on one leaving, given William Saliba, Cristhian Mosquera, Jurrien Timber, and Ben White are all currently at Arteta’s disposal.

White is probably the most likely to depart, but that potential exit is being held up by his ongoing injury. If and when he returns to fitness, the situation might start to pick up speed.

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