Aston Villa defender, Ezri Konsa has revealed what happened when he was made aware of his England call-up, cutting his holiday plans short.
This week, following some dropouts, Aston Villa defender, Ezri Konsa was called up to the England senior squad for upcoming EURO qualifiers.
Under the tutelage of Unai Emery, the centre-back has gone from strength to strength and was well deserving of his inclusion.
Gareth Southgate has typically opted for regular squad players such as John Stones and Harry Maguire but Konsa has got in.
He wasn’t included in the original squad but with Lewis Dunk and Levi Colwill picking up injuries, the void needed filling.
What has Ezri Konsa said?
Given that Konsa wasn’t included in the original England squad that was selected, you can’t blame him for making other plans.
Discussing that with the Daily Mail, the Englishman said: “I was driving on the M1 and it was raining. We were talking about going on holiday.”
With footballers who are not involved in international break given time off from training, this doesn’t come as a shock.
Discussing the moment he was given news of his international call-up, Konsa said: “Ruth (Corry, England team operations officer) called me and said, ‘I hope you’ve got no holidays booked’.”
“‘I said no — but I did! And she told me I was in the squad.”
This must have been music to his ears, as it was to Villa fans. The defender has deserved this for many months and finally got his reward for his form.
Following his addition to the squad, Southgate called: “Then I got a call from the gaffer. He was just congratulating me, telling me that I should come and enjoy myself, get to know the lads and go from there.”
It is the first time that he has featured for the England senior team and as a result, it may be daunting for the Villa man.
With Ollie Watkins and former Villa star Jack Grealish featuring, Konsa has some home comforts with him in the new environment.
