Aston Villa defender Ezri Konsa is preparing for his first start of Euro 2024 in England’s quarter-final clash with Switzerland on Saturday.
Ezri Konsa is joined in the England squad by Aston Villa teammate Ollie Watkins, but neither have featured heavily in the tournament in Germany so far.
Watkins got his only taste of action coming off the bench in the second group game draw with Denmark, whilst Konsa’s first minutes came as he was brought on at half-time of extra-time on to see out the 2-1 win against Slovakia last round.
Konsa’s luck looks set to change though, as Marc Guehi picked up his second booking of the competition in the win over Slovakia and will subsequently miss the quarter-final against Switzerland.
After an impressive cameo in an unfamiliar left-back role in the round of 16, Konsa is widely tipped to be the player chosen to replace Guehi.
In advance of what would be the biggest game of his career, the 26-year-old has been speaking to BBC Sport where he was asked his top three defenders.
Ezri Konsa names former Aston Villa teammate John Terry in top three
Konsa is a very calm, level-headed individual and this was reflected in the way he spoke in a lengthy interview with the BBC ahead of Saturday’s game.
If the Villa defender is to start against Switzerland as has been widely touted to do, he will hope to emulate the performances of some of the greats and he has now revealed who he considers are the three greatest to have played in his position.
The first player mentioned by Konsa was John Terry, the Chelsea legend who spent the end of his career at Villa where the pair played together, before becoming a coach under Dean Smith.
Konsa said on Terry in a clip posted by the BBC Sport ‘X’ page: “I’d say John Terry. I’ve picked John Terry because he was a leader for many years, had that winning mentality and scored a lot of goals for a centre-back.”
He then went onto name another England great in Rio Ferdinand, as well as Real Madrid and Spain icon Sergio Ramos.
Konsa will be determined to take England chance
Many Villa fans felt Konsa should have the been the centre-back chosen to partner John Stones this summer after Harry Maguire’s omission from Gareth Southgate’s 26-man squad.
However, few can argue with the performances of Guehi since coming into the side, with the Crystal Palace man one of the few positives for England so far.
Now, though, Konsa has his chance to show Southgate that he can depend on him in a Three Lions shirt and stake a claim to start again should England qualify for the semi-final.
For Watkins, it looks unlikely that he will have a part to play against Switzerland given Ivan Toney made a real impact off the bench when favoured over the Villa man in the last round, but he will maintain hope he can still contribute for England.
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