Aston Villa ended a historic campaign with their worst defeat of the season as they were thrashed 5-0 by Crystal Palace.
A hat-trick from Jean Mateta as well as two goals from Eberechi Eze saw Palace finish the season with a remarkable run of six wins and one draw in their last seven fixtures.
Perhaps Aston Villa can be forgiven for running out of steam – and perhaps motivation – on the final day given they had their Champions League qualification confirmed earlier in the week.
Whilst Villa fans may not read too much into the freak end of season result, manager Unai Emery will still be hugely disappointed in his players for such a poor showing.
In fact, the performance of one individual may well have expedited summer transfer plans with Emery determined not to stand still next season.
Ezri Konsa drops disasterclass in Crystal Palace hammering
Ezri Konsa has been one of Villa’s most consistent players since Emery’s arrival late in 2022.
However, in recent weeks the England international has struggled as he has played more regularly at right-back rather than his preferred centre-back position.
This has largely been due to injuries, with usual right-back Matty Cash either having to fill in further forward or miss out himself through injury.
Usually Emery would not see Konsa making the move across to cover at full-back as a problem, but his recent performances in the role have been really poor as Brighton’s Simon Adingra and Olympiacos’ Daniel Podence have got the better of him in the last few weeks.
Against Palace he was woeful and lost possession an incredible 17 times according to Sofascore, more than anyone else in a Villa shirt.
The 26-year-old registered a pass completion rate of just 78% and made just one tackle in the game, demonstrating his shortcomings both with and without the ball at Selhurst Park.
In truth, he had a torrid tie against another tricky customer in Eze but, whilst the form of the Palace man could see him break into England’s Euros squad this summer, Konsa’s own form could see him miss out.
Aston Villa must sign a right-back this summer
If anything, the recent form of both Konsa and Cash may well have confirmed to Emery that right-back is a position he has no choice but to strengthen this summer.
Konsa is far better in central defence than he is on the right, which means Cash is the only natural senior right-back in the squad.
With the Champions League on the agenda next season, Villa simply can’t afford not to upgrade in this position in the summer and recent reports suggest they have been exploring this possibility even prior to Konsa’s display against Palace.
The club have been linked with moves for two players who have won their respective leagues this season, with Denzel Dumfries and Jeremy Frimpong both reported targets.
Both of these players offer real attacking prowess, as well as experience of the highest level and would massively improve Emery’s options in what has become a problem position as the season has gone on.
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