Arsenal are renewing their interest in Aston Villa defender Ezri Konsa as they look to strengthen their defence.
Konsa, 28, is still on holiday following the World Cup and was not part of the Aston Villa squad for Wednesday’s Super Cup match against Paris St-Germain.
Arsenal had previously shown interest in signing the England international this summer, but their initial offer did not go through. The Gunners were prepared to pay around £30 million, while Villa value the defender at about £60 million.
Konsa made 48 appearances in all competitions for Aston Villa last season and helped the club win the Europa League.
After successfully signing Bruno Guimaraes from Newcastle, Arsenal have now turned their attention to strengthening their defence. Konsa’s ability to play in different positions is understood to be one of the qualities that has attracted the Gunners.
Arsenal know they will have to improve their initial offer significantly if they want to sign Konsa. However, it remains unclear whether Aston Villa would be willing to sell the defender for a fee below their valuation.
Arsenal have also held early talks with Tottenham over a possible move for their captain Cristian Romero.
Tottenham are believed to have no interest in selling the 28-year-old to Arsenal because of the strong rivalry between the two north London clubs.
Despite this, Arsenal have made enquiries about Romero in what could become one of the biggest transfers of the summer.
Romero suffered a knee injury against Sunderland in April which ruled him out for the rest of the domestic season. He later returned to the Argentina team for the World Cup and played 70 minutes in their final defeat to Spain.
