Ezri Konsa: Aston Villa ready to push on

The centre-back was among a host of players who got their first taste of the top flight with Villa last season and believes the experience has only made them stronger.

Dean Smith’s were required to pull off a Great Escape to avoid relegation by a point but Konsa said: “It’s a great opportunity to build again. I believe we will do much better this season.

“We know how the Premier League is now. We have played against the top teams and know how they play.

“It is a second season for us now and time to push on and get into a better position this season.

“We want to finish as high as possible and build on how we finished last season.”

Konsa joined Villa in a £12million deal from Brentford last summer and was among their best performers over the closing weeks of the season, positioned alongside Tyrone Mings in the heart of defence.

He continued: “I want to continue building my partnership with Tyrone. I feel like we grew as the season went on, especially in the last few games.

“It was a dream come true to play in the Premier League. I enjoyed every minute. I am learning every day and with help from the coaches and my team-mates I can only get better.

“It was a tough end to the season. It was something I believed we could do. We all had that belief and you could see the first game we went back. It was an intense last couple of games but we got through it.”