‘I AM SURPRISED’:
DEAN SMITH SHOCKED BY THE SITUATION INVOLVING ASTON VILLA’S EZRI KONSA

Dean Smith says he is “surprised” that Aston Villa defender Ezri Konsa has not yet been selected to play for England.

The Holte End hero believes Ezri Konsa, who he worked with at Brentford before signing for Aston Villa, believes the icy centre-back will become a “big player” for Unai Emery’s side this season.

Dean Smith has called Ezri Konsa ‘Rolls-Royce’ because he doesn’t understand why Gareth Southgate didn’t pick him for England, as he told BBC Radio 5 Live Sport.

Since joining Villa in 2019, Konsa has seen Tyrone Mings called up time and time again, and rightly so.

But, somehow, Southgate has turned a blind eye to the man next to him, even though he is perhaps the more steadfast of the two.

There’s no doubt Mings is the frontman in the back, has a huge voice and presence, but he doesn’t do it all himself, and Smith shares his thoughts on Konsa.

Konsa for England?
“I think their key player this season will be Ezri Konsa,” Smith said. “I’m surprised he hasn’t played for England yet.

“It’s a player’s Rolls-Royce. He made a big mistake against Newcastle in the second goal, but boy, did he recover from it. He is a highly qualified player.

Why Konsa was not selected for the England team:
“I don’t know, to be honest. This is one of the most notable things for me.

“The reality is that Steven Gerrard pursued me and continued to use him. Since then, they have also recruited centre-backs, and now Unai continues to use him as well. It was a sign, for me it registered

Konsa is underrated
For both Villa and the Premier League, the 25-year-old is an underrated figure and he deserves more praise for his performances.

One of the main reasons Villa returned to Europe was because of players like Konsa.

And as Dean Smith mentioned, even with the arrival of new players, the Englishman still starts regularly.

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Unai Emery praised his players and fans after Aston Villa’s late win over Crystal Palace.

Villa came from behind with goals in the 98th and 101st minutes, securing their 10th consecutive victory at Villa Park.

Odsonne Edouard put the away team ahead just a few minutes after the first half ended.

Despite holding the ball 67% and having 10 mo

re shots than their opponents, it took the Villains until the 87th minute to equalize.

The Jhon Duran rocket surprised everyone. Chest control and volleying through Sam Johnstone.

Controversially, Douglas Luiz’s penalty completed the comeback although Palace fans disagreed with the decision.

Leon Bailey, coming off the bench, sealed the result with his fourth goal of the season.

A great win and coming back to win is a sign of a strong team

Villa have now won 10/10 at home, with the Villa Park fortress thriving.

Against the Eagles, this was the first time the Villains lost in this series.

On this point, Emery said:
“Today we started losing, we didn’t start losing other matches and our reaction was fantastic.

“Not tactically because after their goal we lost our structure, but we played with all our heart and mind.”

The Spaniard would like to thank his supporters for their support:
“We need the fans and I think the atmosphere is great to get that reaction.”

Emery was satisfied with the first half performance:
“We played very well and controlled the match like we did at home. We created opportunities; we didn’t score.

Although the second stage was difficult, the boss was still satisfied:
“The second half was completely different because they scored and that changed everything. I’m very happy today.”

Winning from behind is something Villa don’t often do and to demonstrate this trait is very encouraging.