He came in quietly and became irreplaceable. Defender Ezri Konsa has been one of the heroes of Steven Gerrard’s strong start as Aston Villa boss. He’s already been very good at the back, but last weekend he turned into a goal-machine as the Villains overcame Leicester City in the Premier League.The 24-year-old defender arrived just over two years ago from Brentford in a $15 million transfer from Brentford. At the time, former Villa boss Dean Smith insisted that the Birmingham club secures the signature of the talented youngster. Smith had already worked with Konsa while in charge of the Bees and was sure that the lad would become a star.Friday, 23.00: (2.20) Brentford (3.40) Watford (3.60)Smith has been sacked by Villa after a shaky start to the season, but Konsa remains one of the best players at the club who helped new boss Gerrard record a fantastic start on his return to England. The claret and blues have gotten three wins in four games since Gerrard’s return – and Konsa played in all of them.”I really like how Gerrard has got really high standards. He has that presence. You always want to impress him every day that you come into training. He has already said to us from the first day that he came in that he wants everyone to train how they play. That is something that we have really enjoyed doing.”Konsa is still hoping for an England call-up, having featured for the Three Lions Under-21 team. But he could yet opt to switch nationalities with the defender qualifying for the Democratic Republic of Congo and Angola through his parents.Is Southgate strengthening the national team of DR Congo?The London-born hardman is one of the most difficult players to dribble past in the Premier League. The stats say that he gets past 0.1 times per game on average. That means that the opponents manage to get past him just once in around ten matches!Konsa has been learning the art of defending from Chelsea legend John Terry, who ended his career at Villa and went into coaching as a member of Smith’s staff. The works of the legendary England centre-back have stuck with Ezri.”Before every game, he would tell me, ‘Concentration for 90 minutes.’ That would just stick in my head. No matter how tired I am, even if it is the 90th minute, always stay focused because in the Premier League if you sleep for a second you get punished for it.”🎯Ezri Konsa is the first centre-back to score twice in a @premierleague game this season. Also first defender to score twice in a PL game for @AVFCOfficial since 2010. pic.twitter.com/s1qg4W7S9F— Sky Sports Statto (@SkySportsStatto) December 5, 2021 Last weekend, Konsa showed that he can be more than useful on both ends of the pitch as his two headers denied Leicester’s opener and handed the Villains a great 2-1 win over Gerrard’s former mentor Brendan Rodgers.”Two goals, three points, Villa Park rocking. The main thing is we got the three points. And, to top it off, I got two goals. So, I’m really happy.”When Aston Villa travel to Liverpool next weekend, all eyes will be on Gerrard on what will undoubtedly be an emotional day for him and for the home crowd at Anfield. But it will also provide a stern test for Konsa and his defence partner Tyrone Mings. Keeping the likes of Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane at bay will require the whole team to be sharp. But Stevie G won’t allow them to surrender.”We need to focus on the next game against Liverpool and continue this hard work.”
