Liverpool named as Arsenal's possible competition for £60m Ezri Konsa

Liverpool have been namechecked as possible competition for Arsenal in the race for Ezri Konsa, though the price tag could prove prohibitive for both clubs.

The Reds' defensive requirements are no secret. If the club do move, the profile they want is a hybrid — a defender comfortable at centre-back and right-back rather than a specialist in either. Arsenal, meanwhile, remain uncertain about William Saliba's back problem after he was ruled out for “an extended period.”

Konsa suits both. The Guardian's Ed Aarons, writing on Mikel Arteta's pursuit of the Aston Villa man, noted that the Gunners “could face competition” from Liverpool.

The right fit at the wrong price

Villa want £60 million. Arsenal are “unwilling to pay that much” for a player whose contract expires in 2028, and Liverpool would almost certainly take the same view. At 28, with two years left, Konsa would become the club's joint-eighth most expensive signing — a sequence of facts that does not sit comfortably together.

The club already have a template for how they prefer to spend in defence. Jeremy Jacquet arrived earlier this year at 21, with a fee weighted towards ceiling rather than CV.

The football case is still there. Virgil van Dijk could use another senior presence alongside him while Jacquet and Giovanni Leoni grow into bigger roles, and Joe Gomez's injury record remains a worry. Konsa would add depth in two positions and need no time to adapt to the Premier League.

Journalist David Lynch has reported that any defensive move would come late in the window, if at all, and would be for exactly this hybrid profile. Konsa is the type. The number is the problem.