Unai Emery’s former scholar Bukayo Saka already has the answer to England’s Euro 2024 woes after Ezri Konsa claim.
Sunday evening ended as a night to be celebrated for England at Euro 2024 however, it was so nearly a nightmare for Gareth Southgate.
Slovakia were just seconds away from securing a spot in the quarter-final before Jude Bellingham forced the game to extra time, with Harry Kane then netting the winner.
Southgate has plenty of problems to solve ahead of Saturday’s quarter-final clash with Switzerland, with Aston Villa star Ezri Konsa being able to provide one solution for the unpopular England boss.
Gareth Southgate must take note of Bukayo Saka praise for Aston Villa star Ezri Konsa ahead of Euro 2024 quarter-final
Konsa made his Euro 2024 debut during extra-time of Sunday evening’s win over Slovakia, which could be seen as preparation for Saturday’s game.
Southgate has a problem to solve in defence, as star centre-back Marc Guehi picked up a suspension after just three minutes in the Round of 16, meaning he will miss the duel with Switzerland.
The most natural replacement would be Konsa, who has shown his quality in the friendlies in the build-up to the Euros with England, as well as being one of Villa’s best in 2023/24.
It’s not only those at Villa who see the full force of the 26-year-old, with Unai Emery’s former scholar Bukayo Saka calling the defender ‘one of the best’ one-v-one defenders in the Premier League.
Given Southgate’s need to replace Guehi and England’s struggles against Slovakia, the England boss only needs to consider Saka’s praise of Konsa to bolster his side ahead of the quarter-final.
England must replace Marc Guehi with Konsa ahead of Switzerland clash
Saka’s praise was something that would not shock regular viewers of Konsa’s performances in defence.
The Villa star was consistently impressive in Emery’s side last term, playing at both right-back and centre-back depending on what was needed.
As seen in the table above, there is limited competition to who should partner John Stones in Guehi’s absence, with competition narrowed even further when considering the statistics.
Over the 2023/24 season, Konsa stood out far above Southgate’s other centre-backs Lewis Dunk and Joe Gomez when it came to defensive actions in the Premier League.
It should be a short discussion regarding who will now take the place of Guehi, whose quality at the Euros so far must be replaced sufficiently in what will be a tough game against Switzerland.
The post Bukayo Saka has already settled England debate involving Aston Villa ace ahead of Switzerland clash - opinion appeared first on Aston Villa News.