Aston Villa defender Ezri Konsa on being coached by John Terry after idolising Chelsea legend growing up
Ezri Konsa says he is benefitting from one-to-one coaching sessions with John Terry, having growing up idolising the Aston Villa assistant manager.
The 22-year-old defender joined Villa in a £12million deal from Brentford last summer and was establishing himself as a Premier League player before the coronavirus pandemic brought a halt to football last month.
In an exclusive interview with talkSPORT's James Savundra, Konsa revealed Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand and former Chelsea captain Terry were inspirations for him growing up.
Now he is lucky enough to be leaning on Terry - a five-time Premier League title winner - for advice and support at Villa Park.
He said: “Watching Rio Ferdinand play for Man United and England, his leadership on the pitch, how he played, his confidence, him and John Terry, they were the ones I was looking up to growing up.
"John and I have been doing a lot of one-to-one sessions before training, after matchdays, watching my clips.
“I’ve been asking him questions on what I need to do to improve, what I need to do to stay at the highest level and maintain a good mentality.
“You know what, after watching my clips with him, his main advice is to train hard, keep your training standards high and it will come back on the pitch. So the main thing is training how you play [on a matchday]."
Konsa has made 14 starts in the Premier League this season, which is an impressive feat given he was featuring in League One just two years ago.
Dean Smith signed Konsa from Charlton during his time as Brentford boss in 2018 and the ex-England Under-21 international followed him to Villa after just a season in the Championship.
Konsa said: “He’s been a true believer in me from when I joined Brentford.
“He’s had that trust in me by playing me week in, week out in the Championship. So for me it was a no-brainer when Aston Villa came calling.”
Asked if he still pinches himself when playing against the Premier League's biggest stars, Konsa said: “Of course.
“Especially when I play Man City, [Sergio] Aguero, stepping out on the same pitch with him, [Raheem] Sterling, all the top players, Kevin De Bruyne.
“When the game is done, I have to pinch myself and be like, ‘did I really just play against some of the top players in the world?’”