Victor Lindelof has earned the opportunity to fill the void left by Ezri Konsa as Aston Villa look to strengthen their squad further this summer.
Arriving on a free transfer on the final day of the window last year, his acquisition attracted far less attention than the arrivals of Harvey Elliott and Jadon Sancho’s temporary switch from Manchester United.
Despite the low-key nature of his signing, he proved to be Villa’s standout recruit of the campaign, adapting seamlessly to multiple positions throughout the season with remarkable consistency.
While his preferred role remains central defence, his deployment in midfield during the closing stages of the campaign proved to be a inspired tactical decision by Unai Emery that proved crucial in overcoming Nottingham Forest in the Europa League semi-finals, before securing victory against SC Freiburg in the championship match.
Indeed, it seemed Villa had discovered an ideal successor to Boubacar Kamara, a role that had proved challenging to address in prior seasons. Last term, Kamara led Villa’s points-per-match standings at 2.34, with Lindelof close behind at 2.29.
This wasn’t merely inflated by Europa League performances either, as Lindelof also ranked second behind Kamara in Premier League figures, registering 2.18 points per game.
Throughout his debut season at Villa, Lindelof seldom featured in his strongest position of right-sided centre-back, owing to Konsa’s remarkable availability. Nevertheless, he demonstrated quality when deployed on the left flank during absences of Pau Torres and Tyrone Mings, covered adequately at right-back and excelled when deployed in the double pivot.
Lindelof is easily dismissed as a candidate to step into Konsa’s role next season, with his adaptability perhaps working against him in this context. What is beyond doubt is that Villa must address Konsa’s departure, and they will do so, but there should be no urgent push for an elite centre-back given Lindelof’s dependability.
This explains why interest in Taylor Harwood-Bellis makes considerable sense, even though Villa would theoretically be swapping Konsa for a Championship-level defender.
Young enough to develop significantly in the years ahead, the 24-year-old has the potential to become an England regular, much as Konsa is now, should he progress as anticipated following a transfer to Villa.