14 Aug 2026 16:25:15
Latest rumour surrounding Konsa is suggesting Arsenal are close to Villa’s asking price, c£50m+.
Personally, I think if we can get £55-60m we should let him go. 2 years left on his contract which presumably he won’t extend, so we should cash in.
14 Aug 2026 19:24:08
I think Konsa's silence is indicative of the fact he wants the move, and, in fairness, given what he has done for the club, I think that's fair enough, and if he goes it should be with the club's/fans' best wishes.
Apparently we have enquired about Fikayo Tomori at Roma, England international, admittedly a few years back, but the same age as Konsa, asking price £15-20 million.
If we can get that type of deal over the line, I think it works at all levels. Konsa gets to showcase his talents at a club that will be competing at the highest level across multiple competitions, and it gives us opportunities to invest the balance elsewhere on the pitch.
14 Aug 2026 20:22:42
Arsenal have had long enough to come up with the money, but they want to be cheap and mess with our preparations at the same time. They have known for well over a month that they need a CB. They should have picked their top defensive target and gone all out for that target. We have no chance of replacing him at this stage unless we get top dollar. Here’s a better one, tell them if they want one of our first team players, we want one of theirs.
Zubimendi was a bit-part player last year, and with Bruno coming in, he's going to get fewer games this year. Straight swap, or do one. They have been trying to unsettle our players for the last couple of seasons, and coming in with half-hearted offers simply because they don't really want them, they just want to weaken their competition.
14 Aug 2026 21:56:52
Spot on Whackie, the thing I'd add to this is, if Arsenal don't wanna pay £60M, then maybe they & the other 'big 6' clubs vote in favour of the PSR changes that need to happen to level the playing field more, then they won't have to pay £60M for someone who's gonna be a sub in 6 months time. 🤷🏼♂️
UTV.
15 Aug 2026 00:30:28
That's just it. He will be a sub in a few months. He can kiss his England spot goodbye then, as well; he won't be a starter if he's not a starter for his club. He's been a good player for us over the years, but personality-wise I never liked him. I always found him sulky and petulant, very like Rogers in that regard.
For me, Youri and Luca are the ones I'm gutted over. I'd be sorry to see Watkins go as well, if indeed it does happen.
If things keep going the way they are now, with the sly 6 buying any player they want no matter what the price, I can't see supporters having the same interest in football in 5-10 years.
15 Aug 2026 08:41:03
Whether we like it or not, in this situation the power lies with the player. We can say no to Arsenal, and he can make it clear that he won't sign a new deal, and we lose him for nothing in two years' time, plus we have an unhappy player on our hands.
You can't blame Arsenal for doing what they are doing; it's nothing different to what we are doing in regards to Palhinha. If Konsa wants to go, let him; as with every player, he can be replaced, and value can be had in the market, if you look.
15 Aug 2026 21:04:36
Palhinha situation is nothing like Konsa. Bayern want rid of him, but they also want top dollar. But that's not going to happen for a player who can't get a start for his current club or his country.
16 Aug 2026 08:57:57
So, Bayern want top dollar. We want top dollar. I don't get the difference. The fact that Bayern want rid, but we don't, to my mind, makes no difference. At the end of the day, Bayern and ourselves will have the same decision to make: do we let the player go for a fee, or risk them sitting on a contract for a couple of years, when they will go for nothing? At the end of the day, football is a business, and businessmen aren't going to let prize assets go for nothing.
16 Aug 2026 14:21:03
You said it yourself, mate:
Difference: they want rid, we don't.
Difference: Martinez is a first-team player for club and country.
Difference: we want 10 million, they want 30 million.
Difference: Martinez finished top 4 and won a European trophy.
Palhinha finished 17th with a horrible defensive record and won nothing.
Do I need to think of more reasons why they are different situations?
Every club that ever sold a player wants top dollar, obviously.
16 Aug 2026 14:26:44
Sorry, mixed up Martinez and Konsa, but all the same differences apply, be it Martinez to Juve or Konsa to Arsenal. Clubs trying to unsettle our players to try buy them on the cheap. If we want to be a big modern day club, we have to act like one and play hardball with all these cheapskates wanting our first team players.
16 Aug 2026 16:50:26
But it doesn't matter whether we play hardball or not, the players ultimately decide. Owners aren't going to risk millions of pounds just to try and teach a player a lesson. In terms of the size of offers that come in for players, let's be honest, it's a game. The buying club has a price in mind, as does the selling club, and generally a compromise is reached.
With Palhinha, again, he will decide where he goes, not Bayern. Apparently Newcastle have offered him a 3 year deal, similar money, so better than what we are offering, but he wants to come to us, allegedly. So my question is, do Bayern play hardball, the player stays put, and they end up paying his wages for 2 years, or do they compromise and get his wages off the books.
16 Aug 2026 19:19:03
Why didn't we sell Watkins to Arsenal then when they offered half of what we wanted? Instead, we kept him, qualified for the Europa League, won it, qualified for the Champions League, and made more money that way than selling our main goal scorer. Keeping one of our most important defenders is just as important, and keeping him gives us a better chance of top 5 this season. Arsenal will move on and get someone different, and if that happens, Konsa will more than likely be offered better terms and an extension. I get what you're saying about a compromise on the price, but we're not stuck to sell him, so we are in a much better position to not roll over for them. We rolled over for Juve when they wanted Luiz simply because we were in a bad financial position. You don't see us rolling over for them this time with Martinez, simply because we're not stuck for money this season. If we refuse to sell for less than 60 million and keep him for another season, we could still get what they are offering us now at the end of this season.
Chelsea and the media did their best to get us to sell Roger's for 80 million, but we played hardball and made it clear it was going to be a British record if they wanted to buy him. If he acts up, his career will go down the toilet over the next 2 years, and he'll end up somewhere like Brentford when his contract expires; he'll win nothing else before he retires, and he'll lose his place in the England team. I agree the players do have power, but they don't have it all. We own him for 2 more years; selling to our rivals for less than we want makes no business sense.
Personally, I wouldn't be surprised if Liverpool come in with a strong bid and pull him out from under Arsenal's nose. If that happens, then Villa and myself will laugh all the way to the bank. It seems to be happening to them fairly regularly, and we shouldn't be the idiots who fall for their tactics.
Do you think we would have sold Youri for 35 million to a direct competitor if he hadn't had that clause in his contract?
16 Aug 2026 20:28:24
I get what you're saying, but if Konsa wants to go, and the indications are he is interested, Arsenal offer, say, £50-55 million and he says, "I think that's fair. I've given the club x years' loyal service, let me go", we say no, and he says, "ok, fine, I'll sit here for 2 years and then go on a free." What do you do? He is 29 in October.
I think £50-55 million is decent money for a centre back of that age.
17 Aug 2026 01:54:20
55 million is a heck of a lot more than the 30 they offered. It would be hard to turn down. That'd bring us up to 250 million in sales with only 100 spent. My only fear is the window is getting smaller and smaller by the day, and we have a lot of business to wrap up without selling anymore.
Good debate. 👍
17 Aug 2026 11:14:00
The way things are going, by the time the window closes, we might have a brand new XI. 😱 Watkins to Al-Hilal?
17 Aug 2026 17:06:12
Transfermarket have Ollie valued at EUR60M, and if we get that, then that's good business, & if Villa know this is likely to happen, then why don't we say swap Emi for David & maybe give them a few million if we feel like it. 🤷🏼♂️
UTV.
17 Aug 2026 17:48:56
Big risk swapping Watkins for David. David had a good couple of years in Ligue 1, but last year with Juventus was seriously underwhelming, and he didn't have a great World Cup. The other thing that would worry me is that we are predominantly a counter-attacking team, and therefore rely on players with out-and-out pace. Watkins is quick, I don't think David is.
17 Aug 2026 18:35:30
Just read Al Hilal's move for Watkins is dependent on them being able to move Karim Benzema on, who is in the last year of his contract. Apparently he wants this last year paid in full, which allegedly equates to £85.5 million, which is over £1.5 million a week. The world of football has gone absolutely mad.
17 Aug 2026 18:41:44
Bang on, Lotm, we need a pacy striker if Watkins goes. For me, David is pretty similar to Tammy, who I think is rubbish and nowhere near Premier League standard.