Ezri Konsa is joining Arsenal. The clubs have agreed a fee of £50 million plus add-ons, the England defender has a long-term contract in place, and his medical is expected inside 48 hours.
Arsenal did not get there cheaply. Their opening bid of £30 million was dismissed immediately and Aston Villa spent most of the summer holding out for £60 million. The £50 million plus add-ons that settled it lands in the closing fortnight of the window, with the add-ons doing the work of bridging what the two clubs would say out loud.
Injuries are what forced this. William Saliba faces an extended lay-off with a back problem and Jurrien Timber is still working back from groin surgery, which left the reigning champions short of senior centre backs before the season had properly started. Konsa answers that, and he can play right back too, which is the versatility Mikel Arteta had been after rather than a bonus.
It moves other pieces as well. Ben White is expected to be allowed to leave once this completes, so the squad number of senior defenders may not change much even after £50 million. Aston Villa are not being left empty handed either: Aaron Wan-Bissaka is close to arriving at Villa Park in a deal worth £20 to £25 million with personal terms already agreed.
Konsa is 28 and has been Arsenal’s primary defensive target all summer. The medical is the last step before the announcements.