Former Arsenal striker Ian Wright has revealed that he really enjoyed the performance of one Aston Villa player whilst on international duty.
Aston Villa are not particularly well-represented in this summer’s major international tournaments.
Just four of Unai Emery‘s players were selected to play for their respective nations at Euro 2024, whilst Emi Martinez is the sole Villa player at Copa America after Douglas Luiz’ departure.
Villa’s stars have had mixed fortunes, with John McGinn crashing out in the group stages with Scotland and Youri Tielemans’ Belgium exiting at the round of 16 stage after struggling to find form.
Martinez was the hero again for his country in the Copa America quarter-finals as he saved twice in the penalty shootout against Ecuador to set up a semi-final against Canada.
- READ MORE: Aston Villa’s Emi Martinez an ‘alien’ for what he did for Argentina v Ecuador at Copa America
Meanwhile, Ollie Watkins and Ezri Konsa have a Euros semi-final against Netherlands to look forward to and Ian Wright was very impressed with what he saw from the latter after his first start of the tournament against Switzerland.
Ian Wright feels Ezri Konsa has given Gareth Southgate a ‘problem’ with England display
It was Watkins who featured first in the tournament out of the Villa duo, coming off the bench against Denmark in the second group game.
However, the 28-year-old striker has not featured since, with Ivan Toney overtaking him in the pecking order and Harry Kane the starting centre-forward.
- READ MORE: Aston Villa star Ollie Watkins should be fearful after what happened in England win v Slovakia
Konsa had to bide his time to get his first taste of Euros action this summer, making his first appearance in the second-half of extra-time in the 2-1 round of 16 win over Slovakia as a left-back.
The player picked ahead of Konsa to partner John Stones, Marc Guehi, was suspended for the quarter-final clash against Switzerland on Saturday and it was Konsa who was handed the opportunity to deputise.
It was a chance he seized with both hands, with Konsa impressing as England drew 1-1 before winning on penalties despite another tepid collective display.
Wright was particularly impressed with the Villa defender’s performance and spoke on his podcast, Wrighty’s House, of how his showing has now Given Southgate a dilemma ahead of Wednesday’s semi-final.
Wright said when asked how he felt about Konsa’s display: “So happy, so happy.
“I think (Gareth Southgate) has got a problem now because for me Ezri Konsa and what he has done, the way he has come in. Again, you have to look at the squad and Ezri Konsa coming playing for England at that level of competition, coming off a fantastic season.
“Honestly, I am saying these guys are amazing because the pressure they are coming into and delivering.
“You think to yourself, okay, Marc Guehi got suspended, unfortunately for him, but someone has come in and said I am gonna play, bro, I am gonna play.”
Konsa has earned right to start for England against Netherlands
As Wright pointed out, Guehi has had a very good tournament in what is also his first taste of a major international competition.
In fact, the Crystal Palace centre-back has arguably been England’s best player this summer, but Konsa did all he could against Switzerland to show he can be relied upon.
There is a fair argument for either player to start against the Netherlands on Wednesday, but Konsa has certainly earned the right to keep the shirt and it has left Southgate with an extremely difficult decision to make.
- READ MORE: Two key stats show why Ezri Konsa now can’t be replaced by Marc Guehi for England’s semi-final
The £75k-a-week Villa man is a supremely confident individual whose calm nature means it is no surprise that he showed no signs of nerves despite starting his first ever game in an international tournament.
However, Guehi will himself feel he has shown enough in the previous four games to return to the side.
Whatever happens, Konsa has done himself justice with how he has stepped up this summer.
