Ashley Preece drops teasing 5-word transfer claim, Aston Villa fans will be ecstatic - opinion

Aston Villa were rather active in the recent January transfer window, not only bringing new faces to the club such as Philippe Coutinho, Calum Chambers, Robin Olsen and Lucas Digne but also with moving some of their current players out on loan.

Looking ahead to the upcoming summer transfer window, it seems as though Villa fans can breathe easy over the future of one particular player at the Midlands club for the time being.

During a recent online Q&A on the Birmingham Live website, a user asked journalist Ashley Preece if there was anything in the recent transfer rumours linking defender Ezri Konsa with a move away from the club.

In response, Preece had this to say on the matter: “No, nothing in those rumours.”

He then followed that up by commenting:

“[Steven] Gerrard drafting Konsa straight back in on Saturday tells you all you need to know, pal. Such an important player for Villa.”

Since joining the Villans back in the 2019 summer transfer window from Brentford in a deal worth a reported fee of £12m, the defender has made himself a vital figure for the team by racking up a total of 92 appearances across all competitions, chipping in with six goals and two assists along the way.

As Preece mentioned in the Q&A, the Villa manager chose to play the 24-year-old in their recent 2-0 win over Brighton & Hove Albion immediately after serving a suspension.

In the away win, Konsa showed just how much of a useful defensive figure he can be for his side by racking up four clearances and winning four of the six duels he was involved in whilst having a supremely imrpessive passing accuracy of 91%.

Given how prominent the Englishman has been for Villa since his arrival and how much he has contributed to keeping the club in the Premier