Full story
Arsenal move for Konsa
Arsenal are set to bring in Ezri Konsa from Aston Villa for around £51m as they look to defend their Premier League title while coping with injuries to William Saliba and Jurrien Timber.
“Arsenal are now set to bring in Ezri Konsa from Aston Villa for around £51m”
The BBC said Saliba has been ruled out for an 'extended period' with a long-term back issue that ended his World Cup with France early, and Timber is also out for the opening weeks with a groin problem that caused him to pull out of the Netherlands World Cup squad.
Arsenal’s transfer work is framed as a response to defensive availability, with the BBC noting that Ben White is Arsenal’s only fit right-back and 21-year-old Cristhian Mosquera is the only right sided centre back to partner Gabriel Magalhaes.
The BBC also reported that Mikel Arteta is trying to avoid a centre-back pairing that would involve two left-footed players, with Riccardo Calafiori preferred at left-back.
In parallel, FOX Deportes said the “baja de William Saliba” pushed the Gunners to seek a new central defender and reported that Fabrizio Romano confirmed Konsa would “se someterá al examen médico en las próximas 48 horas y luego firmará.”
Villa rebuild and deadlines
Aston Villa’s summer is being reshaped by departures, with the BBC describing Ezri Konsa’s imminent £51m move to Arsenal as the latest high-profile exit at Villa Park after the Europa League win in May against Freiburg.
The BBC said Villa must comply with Uefa’s squad cost ratio (SCR) restricting them to spending 70% of football related revenue on player and staff wages, transfer fees and agent fees, and it cited fines including a £9.5m sanction last year and a £19.4m fine in June with £12.9m suspended.
The BBC also linked Villa’s selling to the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR), limiting financial losses to a maximum of £105 million over a rolling three-year period, and it said the regulations have now been replaced by SCR.
Sky Sports set the operational clock for English clubs, stating that the summer transfer window opened on June 15 and closes at 11pm UK time on September 1.
In the same transfer context, the BBC reported that Aston Villa’s European heroes could have sold six of the starting XI by the end of the transfer window, while ESPN noted Villa completed signings including goalkeeper Zion Suzuki and left back Matteo Ruggeri.
Who stays, who arrives
The BBC said that with Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes as the core of Arsenal’s backline, Arteta’s first-choice options include Timber, Saliba, Gabriel and Calafiori, while it also noted that Arsenal played 63 games in all competitions as they won the title and reached the final of the Champions League.
“the arrival of Konsa will take this summer's outlay to over £150m”
The BBC reported that Arsenal’s outlay has already reached more than £100m in this transfer window, including Bruno Guimaraes from Newcastle (£75m) and Club Brugge winger Christos Tzolis (£34m), and it added that the arrival of Konsa would take this summer’s outlay to over £150m.
For Villa, ESPN reported that goalkeeper Zion Suzuki joined from Parma in a deal worth up to €35 million ($40 million), and it said the 23-year-old was Japan’s goalkeeper at the World Cup this summer.
ESPN also said Aston Villa signed left back Matteo Ruggeri from Atlético Madrid, and it reported that Ruggeri joins following the departure of Lucas Digne to Paris Saint-Germain.
With the window still moving, the BBC said Arsenal’s squad planning includes Arteta’s view on numbers, quoting him: "Twenty two outfield players and three goalkeepers of what is enough, or maybe you know more."