Arsenal ‘reignite Ezri Konsa transfer interest’ with England star prioritised after Cristian Romero talks with Tottenham

ARSENAL are back on the tail of Aston Villa and England defender Ezri Konsa, according to reports. The Gunners flirted with a move for Konsa, 28, earlier in the window but their valuation was a long way short of Villa’s. Ezri Konsa has still not returned to the Aston Villa squad following the World Cup Credit: Getty At the time, Arsenal indicated that they would only pay about £30million for the centre-back. Emirates bosses went away and looked at other options, including Tottenham captain Cristian Romero in what would have been one of the most shocking moves of the summer. Sign up for the Arsenal newsletter Thank you! Exploratory talks are said to have taken place between the local rivals. But even though Spurs are expected to sell Romero, they do not want him to cross the North London divide. According to BBC Sport, Arsenal have now reignited their pursuit of Konsa knowing they will have to get much closer to Villa’s £60m price tag. Konsa played 48 times across all competitions last season and helped Villa win the Europa League. He then featured eight times at the World Cup, where England finished third. Konsa is still on his post-tournament break and will play no part in Villa’s Uefa Super Cup clash with Paris Saint-Germain tonight. Most read in Sport BEST ONLINE CASINOS – TOP SITES IN THE UK The former Charlton and Brentford star can play in central defence or at right-back, and Arsenal bosses view his versatility as a bonus. William Saliba and Jurrien Timber are both facing extended periods out injured and will miss the start of the new season, forcing Arsenal to dip into the market for reinforcements. Comment now