If Ezri Konsa is picked for the most important match of his career on Saturday, he will do so with the words of John Terry still ringing in his ears.
The Aston Villa defender is in line to start England’s Euro 2024 quarter-final clash with Switzerland – a long-awaited reward for a player who has performed superbly under Unai Emery. Konsa has made great strides in working with the Villa boss, but the penny began to drop for him at Villa during his first season, when the Covid-19 outbreak had brought competitive sport to a standstill.
Former Chelsea and England captain Terry was part of Dean Smith’s coaching staff during the 2019-20 season and Konsa couldn’t have wished for a better teacher.
“John and I did a lot of one-on-one sessions, looking at different parts of my game,” Konsa recalled at the time. “I asked him questions about what I needed to do to improve, what I needed to do to stay at the highest level and keep a good mentality. After watching my clips with him, his main advice was to train hard, keep your training standards high and that will come back on the pitch.”
During lockdown, Terry and Konsa spoke extensively over Zoom about the art of central defence, watching clips selected by Terry. Konsa was still in the early stages of his Premier League career. Smith had also worked with the 26-year-old at Brentford and when Villa learned in the dying days of summer 2019 that he was available for just £11m, they didn’t think twice. Konsa is now likely worth five times that amount and could increase his value with a strong performance against the Swiss.
Ezri Konsa prepares for his first England start at Euro 2024 against Switzerland
He has had an excellent season at Aston Villa, which led to his call-up for the tournament
The defender used to enjoy one-on-one sessions with John Terry (centre) and Zoom the coach during lockdown
“What I like about him is the way he approached JT himself, wanting to talk about his clips and learn the little tricks of defending,” Smith, who is now in charge of American club Charlotte, told Mail Sport. “We brought him from Charlton to Brentford and he settled in straight away. He’s a bit of a lad in the dressing room and that’s good – he’s got a really good personality.
‘But when he came to Villa he became really serious about his career and understood that if he worked hard he could become one of the best. That’s exactly what he did.’
Talk to Villa insiders about Konsa and the reports are unanimously positive. “Smart, hardworking and ambitious,” said one. “One of the nicest people you could meet,” added another. His willingness to learn made him an ideal pupil for Emery, who immediately saw Konsa’s potential.
Emery likes to invite players into his office for one-on-one conversations, where he goes through recordings on an iPad to explain his plans. On the training ground, he marches through sessions, clipboard in hand, occasionally intervening to get a player in exactly the right place to defend a set piece. “Not here! Here!” the Spaniard will bark. Konsa takes it all in.
Without football, Konsa’s life could have been very different. Growing up in a tough part of Newham, east London, Konsa knew that his peers were getting involved in crime and gang violence. His older brother, Antonio, made a special effort to ensure that Ezri was not drawn down that path.
Yet Konsa’s rise should come as no surprise when you consider his footballing roots. Senrab FC, a youth club in East London, is a veritable talent factory for the top flight of English football. In addition to Konsa and Terry, Sol Campbell, Ledley King, Ray Wilkins, Jermain Defoe, Lee Bowyer and Bobby Zamora also played there.
Konsa is the last to win full international honours, although he could have played for Portugal against France instead.
His former manager, Dean Smith (right), has told Mail Sport what qualities he sees in Konsa
He has since gone on to work under Unai Emery (left), but life could have been very different if it hadn’t been for football and his brother
Smith admitted he was surprised at how long it took for Konsa to be called up and said Portugal were interested
“I was surprised he wasn’t in the England squad earlier,” Smith said. “When I was at Villa I started to worry. His father is Portuguese and I knew Portugal were taking him up on the prospects.
“If he plays in a three-man defence for England, it won’t bother him. He did it for me at both Brentford and Villa, and most teams build a three-man defence in the modern game. He’s efficient with the ball and he doesn’t overplay. When people see him, they just think ‘Yeah, he’s a really good defender.’