Aston Villa defender Ezri Konsa is yet to taste a single minute of action for England at Euro 2024.
In truth, it’s not much better for Ollie Watkins because he has only made one sub appearance and that was the second group game against Denmark.
In a strange way, Aston Villa fans will be glad that their players haven’t been thrust into the Euro 2024 limelight so much because the rest of their England teammates have taken verbal beatings left, right and centre.
Surprise, surprise. Gareth Southgate is producing abject performances. And he is making some very odd calls.
Yes, he was brave with his 26-man squad and even showed some balls to hook off Harry Kane for Aston Villa’s star man after an hour against the Danes.
But that’s as far as it gets with the former Villa centre-back because he could be making one of his biggest mistakes yet.
Ezri Konsa could play left-back for England v Slovakia
A place in the last eight is up for grabs and this is where the men will be separated from the boys.
Leading up to the game, there is more concern at left-back because Kieran Trippier is an injury doubt.
Southgate decided to only take one bonafide left-back to Germany and he isn’t even fit, that’s why Trippier has been deployed in that role.
And it has now been suggested that if the Newcastle man isn’t fit, then Konsa will step up.
A mistake playing Ezri Konsa at left-back
If this was under Unai Emery, then there would be no issues, but it isn’t and you just can’t trust Southgate to make this work.
Every Villa fan up and down the land knows that Konsa is one of the best defenders in the league, especially one-on-one, even Bukayo Saka acknowledged it.
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But you just worry that Konsa is set up to be a scapegoat here and he is set up to fail by the man in the dugout who only knows how to fail.
What’s even crazier is that Joe Gomez returned to the England set-up after several years for his performances at left-back for Liverpool this season.
Yet, it’s Konsa who is the one who will get picked if Trippier is forced to sit this one out, even though he has hardly ever played that role at club level.
If Konsa had to come in at right-back or centre-back. No worries. But playing yet another player out of position in a sleep-walking system designed for the players to suffer isn’t good news for Villa fans.
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