Aston Villa Bid for Taylor Harwood-Bellis Rejected as Konsa Nears Arsenal Move
Aston Villa have seen an £18 million bid for Taylor Harwood-Bellis knocked back by Southampton, according to The Athletic, as the Midlands club brace themselves for the loss of a key defender.
Villa move as Konsa edges towards Arsenal
Unai Emery is hunting for a new defender with Ezri Konsa close to sealing a £51 million move to Arsenal, a deal that could rise further with add-ons. The 28-year-old has emerged as Mikel Arteta’s preferred option on the right side of defence, valued for his ability to operate both at centre-back and right-back.
Talks between Arsenal and Villa are described as “advancing”, with discussions even taking place at ownership level to narrow the gap in valuations. Arsenal are prepared to go to around £40 million, while Villa rate Konsa closer to £60m. Personal terms are not expected to be a stumbling block.
Villa, anticipating his departure, have turned to Harwood-Bellis as one of three defensive targets. Their opening £18m offer has been rejected, with Southampton holding firm. Benfica have already seen a £17m proposal dismissed as the Championship club dig in over one of their key assets.
Wright fumes over Lewis-Skelly saga
Away from the transfer table, Ian Wright has taken aim at his former club over the handling of Myles Lewis-Skelly’s future.
The highly rated youngster has been linked with a move to Manchester United this summer, despite having made it clear he wants to remain at Arsenal. Wright is furious the situation has been allowed to turn into a saga and has leapt to the defence of the player’s family.
Speaking on the Stick to Football podcast, Wright said: “I don’t know where that’s coming from because I know for a fact that’s not coming from his team.
“It’s not coming from his mum. Arsenal fans need to chill out with his mum saying that she’s touting him about. Myles has already said he’s happy to say. Why have Arsenal not just said he’s not for sale?
“He’d be a great signing for Manchester United, of course he would. Look what he’s doing.”
New season, new rules
As clubs scramble to finalise squads, players and coaches must also adapt to a fresh batch of laws that will shape the coming campaign.
If play is stopped for an injury, the affected player must now leave the field for at least one minute, up from the previous 30 seconds. The change is designed to deter time-wasting disguised as treatment.
VAR will also be able to intervene on second yellow cards, but only in cases where a clearly wrong second booking has been shown. It will not step in for incidents where a player might have escaped a potential second yellow.
Set-piece delays are under the microscope too. A five-second countdown will be used for throw-ins and goal-kicks; exceed it and the restart is reversed. That means a throw-in goes to the opposition, or a delayed goal-kick hands the attacking team a corner.
Substitutions will be sharper. Players have 10 seconds to leave the pitch when being replaced. If they take longer, the incoming substitute must wait until the next stoppage in play after one minute has passed before entering.
Some of the more radical World Cup innovations will not be coming to the Premier League. Matches will not be split into quarters, with hydration breaks only permitted when temperatures exceed 30 degrees Celsius at kick-off.
VAR’s scope will not be widened to overturn incorrectly awarded corners, despite the benefit of replays. The mistaken use of VAR for simulation at the World Cup has also been clarified: a yellow card can only be reviewed to correct mistaken identity, not to reassess whether the offence itself was a dive.
The protocol around discrimination remains in place, including the three-step process for dealing with player-reported abuse. Red cards for players covering their mouths when speaking to officials are not being introduced.
Gyokeres focused, Keane unconvinced
Viktor Gyokeres has made it clear his mind is on Arsenal, not the rumour mill. Linked with Barcelona, the Swede told talkSPORT he is not thinking about an exit and is relishing the start of the league campaign.
“I’m looking forward a lot, it’s going to be nice to start a league campaign again and to start against my old club.
“It’s a great way to start at home so I’m looking forward to it. I haven’t played against them so of course it’s going to be nice to see a few of them that are still there and meet the fans as well.”
At Manchester United, Roy Keane remains unconvinced by the midfield, even with Carlos Baleba on the way.
Speaking on the Stick to Football podcast, he said: “If you’re on about winning the league, I think it’s (United’s midfield) short. United’s big problems are still going to be defensively.
“That midfield and going forward, there is a big goal threat at United, they were very good last year with it, especially when Carrick took over they were a real goal threat.
“But the issue is at the back, the full-backs and the two centre-halves are still a big issue. But on paper, they [the midfield] jump out as really good players. But is there a league-winning midfield there? Probably not. No, I don’t see it.”
Jones nears Inter, Barcelona change course
In Italy, Curtis Jones is closing in on a move to Inter Milan. Reports there say the Liverpool midfielder is due to land in the country today for a medical, with Gianluca Di Marzio reporting that the 23-year-old has agreed a five-year contract.
Inter have lodged an offer in the region of £30m for the homegrown midfielder. With Jones entering the final year of his Liverpool deal and no progress on an extension, the path is clear for a switch to San Siro.
Barcelona, meanwhile, have stepped away from a move for Julian Alvarez. Atletico Madrid’s firm stance has forced sporting director Deco to explore other options as he looks to replace Robert Lewandowski and Ferran Torres.
Deco said: “We’ve lost two players in attack, Lewy and Ferran. I think we have solutions to cover Ferran with the signings we have made. Replacing Robert is much more difficult. It’s really tough to replace a player like him.
“We have some internal solutions, but we have to look [what’s available]. There is a lot of noise. I think there will be more movement, we are still working hard.”
As the market tightens and the first whistle of the new season looms, the question is no longer who wants whom. It’s who blinks first on the fees, and which clubs are left scrambling when the music stops.
