Arsenal could sign £60m Aston Villa star instead of Rogers as Saliba will sign for Real Madrid | OneFootball

Arsenal could look to sign Ezri Konsa from Aston Villa this summer which ‘may impact’ their pursuit of Morgan Rogers, according to reports.

The Gunners have made Rogers a top target this summer as they look to improve their attacking players with Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli linked with moves away from the Emirates Stadium.

Arsenal are currently being put off by Aston Villa’s huge £130m price tag with Fabrizio Romano insisting recently that Paris Saint-Germain’s Bradley Barcola is also on their list.

Romano said on Wednesday: “Arsenal also have an interest in Barcola but their number-one option remains Morgan Rogers. For Morgan Rogers, Aston Villa want to put a price around £130 million to let him leave this summer.

“Villa are aware of Arsenal’s interest and of interest from other clubs, including Chelsea. But in this moment, Arsenal have made very good progress on the player’s side for some time. And so, Arsenal keep pushing for Rogers.

“Barcola is on the list, but for Rogers, this depends on the price because Aston Villa want £130 million, but Arsenal hope to find a way to negotiate, maybe with add-ons, maybe with a different structure. Arsenal hope to be creative in order to find a solution for Rogers.”

But the Daily Telegraph are now claiming that Rogers’ Aston Villa team-mate Konsa is now on their radar and that it ‘may impact’ their pursuit of the attacking midfielder.

The report adds: ‘Villa do not want to sell Rogers but would need to consider alternative sales to help fund signings if they managed to hold on to him. Konsa has two years remaining on his Villa contract and is likely to be valued in the region of £60m by the Midlands club. That is more than Arsenal would want to pay for the 28-year-old.

‘It remains to be seen whether Arsenal could bid for 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.’

Desailly: Saliba will leave Arsenal for Real Madrid

Signing Konsa could be particularly important if William Saliba leaves with France legend Marcel Desailly claiming the Arsenal centre-back will sign for Real Madrid at some point.

Desailly told Sportscasting: “Yes, yes. I do expect William Saliba to one day wear the colours of Real Madrid. He’s committed to Arsenal for the next, I don’t know, four years. But he’s young, so why not? The door is open, and all the best players want to play for Real Madrid at some point in their careers. The door is open. But not now. Not now. He is the best central defender, so it is what it is today.”

When asked who is the best centre-back in world football, Desailly added: “Who do I think is the best centre-back in the world? It’s not Virgil van Dijk. He has his level, we know; there’s no doubt he’s a great defender.

“But on some occasions, he has shown a little bit of weakness. It’s also probably due to his past injury; in 1v1 situations, he is no longer exceptional like he was before, though he’s still a great player.

“I would put William Saliba there; even though he has some problems with his back, I think he’s in the conversation for the world’s best centre-back. Saliba is definitely one of the best ones.

“Gabriel is only there because of Saliba – so Gabriel, no, he’s not in the conversation. Who else can we say? At Manchester United, there’s nothing. Chelsea, not at that level. Inter Milan, AC Milan, absolutely not.”