Gareth Southgate turns to Ezri Konsa – England’s unlikely funny man

Ezri Konsa will spend this week trying to keep his place at the front of the queue to replace Marc Guehi and make his first-ever major tournament start in England’s Euro 2024 quarter-final match against Switzerland.

Guehi’s booking against Slovakia was his second of the tournament, ruling him out of the last-eight meeting with Switzerland in Düsseldorf on Saturday.

The Crystal Palace centre-half might have been a doubt for the quarter-final in any case, as he played through the pain barrier after needing an injection in his shoulder at half-time in the Slovakia win.

Guehi will be ready for the semi-finals, should England beat Switzerland, but, in the meantime, Konsa now has the chance to secure his first tournament start after making his Euros debut as a substitute on Sunday night.

Konsa is understood to be ahead of Lewis Dunk to partner John Stones in the centre of defence against the Swiss, although both men will be assessed in training this week.

“I’m always ready,” said Konsa. “When the gaffer wants to play me, wherever he wants to play, I will step in. I’m always ready.”

As previously reported by Telegraph Sport, Konsa has hugely impressed England manager Southgate and his backroom staff with the way in which he has trained and carried himself at the Euros so far.

Southgate made a point of commenting on his performance as a late substitute against Slovakia at left-back, while Bukayo Saka revealed that Konsa is one of the toughest opponents he has faced.

Saka said: “In some sessions, I do a little one-v-one with Ezri because, for me, he is one of the best in the Premier League, defending one-v-one, so he improves me and improves him as well. So, I enjoy coming up against him.”

Asked about the praise he received from Saka, Konsa replied: “It’s nice to hear, coming from Bukayo, he’s one of the best wingers around. In training, we always do a competition and we do a one-v-one and see who wins. We’ve been doing that for a while now.

“I’ve just put Eberechi Eze on my list so he’s next. There’s no forfeit, but thinking about it, we’re going to start doing it. I think the forfeit will be whoever loses must get dinner.”

Konsa can take inspiration from the performances of Guehi, who has been England’s most consistent performer in Germany after being handed his major tournament debut at the Euros.

“We’ve been excellent at the back,” said Konsa. “Marc Guehi has been outstanding for us. It’s his first major tournament and it’s been great to see from the bench.

“Obviously, like everyone, I want to play. But if and when my time comes I’ll be ready but I’ve enjoyed the experience so far. It’s my first major tournament and, hopefully, it won’t be the first and last one.”

It is not just Konsa’s performances that have caught the eye, but also his attitude in the camp where he is viewed as the squad’s funny man.

“I haven’t got any jokes! I just try to keep the spirits as high as possible,” said Konsa. “It’s just how I am, no matter where I am, club or country. I’m always just the joker.” Ollie Watkins, Konsa’s Aston Villa and England team-mate added: “Ezri is a bit of a clown.”

Konsa’s former Villa manager Dean Smith has described the 26-year-old as a “Rolls-Royce” and even compared him with club legend Paul McGrath.

Speaking three years ago about the players Smith used to encourage him to learn from, Konsa said: “The gaffer used to make us defenders watch clips of teams that defend well, like Liverpool, Lazio and Atlético Madrid. And then I used to go away and watch my own clips as well, of [Nemanja] Vidic, [Rio] Ferdinand and Terry. The gaffer also showed me clips of McGrath. He could do it all.

“My mentality just changed. Just defending for my life, putting my body on the line, blocking shots, blocking everything. Becoming a real centre-half.”

Former England and Chelsea defender John Terry also used to spend time with Konsa when the pair were both at Villa.

“Speaking to JT when he was at Villa, I was always asking him about his mentality and how he maintained it to stay at a high level for that long,” said Konsa. “I think he helped me a lot during his time at Aston Villa, so I’ve tried to take on every little detail he gave to me and it looks like it’s paid off.”