Arsenal close in on Ezri Konsa as England star could make debut at Villa Park
· Yahoo Sports
Ezri Konsa is set to complete a medical at Arsenal on Thursday following the Gunners' agreement on a deal valued at approximately £50 million ($68 million) plus add-ons for the England international.
Konsa, a childhood Tottenham Hotspur supporter, advocated for the transfer after receiving an extended post-World Cup break.
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Reigning Premier League champions Arsenal are unlikely to meet Thursday's 12pm local time registration cutoff for Konsa to participate in their season opener against Coventry City on Friday, though his conditioning still needs attention regardless, after Unai Emery granted him four complete weeks off alongside Ollie Watkins and Emi Martinez, as per The Mirror.
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This means there's a strong possibility that Konsa, assuming all procedures proceed smoothly, could make his Arsenal bow at Villa Park - the venue he's called home for the previous seven seasons - on August 31.
Mikel Arteta has been utterly determined to secure the 28-year-old, who represented his primary defensive target and had a fresh lucrative deal waiting in the Midlands, despite pursuing various other center-backs, including Jarell Quansah, Cristian Romero, and free agent John Stones.
Konsa is also capable of playing right-back and is regarded as a ready-made acquisition, similar to the £75 million ($101 million) arrival of Bruno Guimaraes, which strengthens Arsenal's squad depth during William Saliba's absence - sidelined with a long-term back injury.
Arsenal initially tabled a £30 million ($40.8 million) bid for Konsa earlier this summer, which was swiftly rejected, before returning to negotiations last week and expressing their willingness to go to £40 million ($54.4 million) for the defender.
Villa, however, stood firm on their £60 million valuation until Konsa, who had two years remaining on his current contract, made clear his determination to pursue the move and head back to London, where he previously represented Brentford and Charlton Athletic.
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He is set to become Arsenal's fifth summer signing following Piero Hincapie (whose loan from Bayer Leverkusen was made permanent), Illan Meslier, Christos Tzolis and Guimaraes, pushing their total outlay to approximately £194.5 million ($262.6 million).
Konsa — in line for a significant pay increase — will also become the latest marquee departure from Villa Park, following Youri Tielemans (Manchester United), Morgan Rogers (Chelsea) and Lucas Digne (Paris Saint-Germain), while both Watkins and Martinez face uncertain futures at the club.
Watkins is a target for Al-Hilal, who have already seen three bids turned away.
A key factor in Arsenal's pursuit of Konsa is his homegrown status. Registering eight homegrown players will allow the Gunners to officially field a full 25-man Premier League squad.
Winger Gabriel Martinelli currently qualifies as homegrown, though he may still exit before the transfer deadline. Should Arsenal only be able to list seven senior homegrown players, they would be restricted to a 24-man squad registration.