Aston Villa braced for fresh bid from Arsenal for Ezri Konsa | OneFootball

Aston Villa are braced for a fresh bid from Arsenal for Ezri Konsa, according to the Daily Mail.

Gunners centre-back William Saliba is facing a lengthy injury absence after aggravating a back injury at the World Cup, and Mikel Arteta wants to bring Konsa to the Emirates Stadium club.

The England international defender is Arsenal’s top target for central defence following the blow to the Frenchman.

However, their initial proposal was well below Villa’s £60 million valuation and they are expected to return with an improved bid for the 28-year-old.

The Midlands club want Konsa to sign a contract extension as he has two years remaining on his current deal at Villa Park.

Villans manager Unai Emery wants to impress in the Champions League next season and is desperate to hold on to the Englishman.

Arsenal will hope an improved offer will tempt Villa, but the Europa League champions are not under pressure to sell after making around £140m following the sales of Morgan Rogers and Youri Tielemans.

The Gunners will not give up in their pursuit as Arteta wants a new centre-back to bolster his squad depth in the position for the new season.

The North London club were linked with a move for John Stones after he left Manchester City.

The England international has since joined Inter Milan and Arsenal could pull out all the stops to sign his Three Lions teammate.

Konsa has proven himself over the years in the Premier League, with almost 250 top-flight games under his belt.

He can also play at right-back, with his ability to play out from the back and remain comfortable in possession a quality the Gunners admire.