Arsenal’s £51m Konsa deal could cost Southampton their vice-captain | OneFootball

According to Sainstmarching.com, Arsenal’s £51m move for Ezri Konsa has sparked Aston Villa’s hunt for a centre-back, a chain that could yet cost Southampton their vice-captain. With 10 days to the deadline, Saints will name a back four tomorrow and one of them might already have played his last game for the club.

Arsenal wanted cover at right-back and centre-back, and William Saliba’s back issue removed any reason to wait. An initial £30m bid was rejected before the fee settled around £51m for Konsa, Sky Sports reported.

Konsa did not feature in pre-season, so Villa already needed a centre-back, but Arsenal’s cash provides the means to buy. Sky Sports also link Villa with Chelsea’s Tosin Adarabioyo, and the club are focused on the position rather than one name, so they can walk away if talks drag.

David Ornstein reported an opening offer of £18m plus add-ons for Taylor Harwood-Bellis that did not move Southampton. The club are understood to prefer guaranteed money to add-on heavy packages.

Benfica were initially the only bidder, with a €20m proposal turned down, Harwood-Bellis was said to have asked to go, then the Portuguese side pursued Alessandro Circati and their interest cooled. With two years left on his deal and no release clause, leverage only pays if another bidder arrives before the window closes, and none has. Keep the fee short and Saints risk carrying an unsettled vice-captain into a season that began bottom on minus four points.

Source: Sainstmarching.com

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”