Ezri Konsa exclusive: I'm in the form of my life at Aston Villa - but there's more to come

Is this the best form of your career?

“Yeah, definitely,” replies the Villa defender after the shortest of pauses. “I feel I have continued from last season and built on that.

“I’ve always believed in myself as a player. I have always believed in what I feel I can on the pitch.

“Sometimes you just need the right manager to come in to help you get to the next level. I feel with this boss I’ve been able to do that. I feel I am really blossoming.”

There is no arrogance in Konsa’s answer. That is simply not the way of a player whose relaxed, unassuming persona away from the pitch mirrors his unfussy style on it.

Sitting down at Villa’s Bodymoor Heath training ground, the word “humble” crops up repeatedly as Konsa, who celebrated his 26th birthday on Monday, insists his best is yet to come.

“Sometimes I feel like I have been in the game for about 20 years,” he laughs when told he is now just 15 appearances shy of 300 in his career, which began at Charlton and took in Brentford before a £12million move to Villa in 2019.

“I am still young. They say with centre halves you don’t reach your peak until you are 28, 29. I am still learning every day.

“I just want to keep doing what I am doing now, staying humble, consistent and keeping my feet on the ground, take it game by game. Who knows what can happen?”