Chelsea FC's Tosin Adarabioyo eyed by Aston Villa as Konsa replacement
Indeed, the summer transfer window shuts for business in less than a fortnight, so if Unai Emery is going to be able to get in a preferred candidate, he and the Villa board have to work quickly to get a deal over the line. Chelsea's Tosin Adarabioyo is the most likely replacement, though Villa will face stiff competition from Marseille - who have apparently already been in touch with the Blues, Benfica and Sevilla.
The 28-year-old Londoner is the same age as Konsa but, with respect, hasn't made as many headline-grabbing performances at Stamford Bridge as his contemporary has at Villa Park. That Xabi Alonso would be open to the possibility of losing Tosin not long after bidding Trevoh Chalobah farewell might also sound the alarm bells in the Midlands, though the time factor is clearly against Emery and Co.
What happened?
Over the past 12 months, Tosin made 33 appearances for Chelsea in all competitions, scoring three goals, though his cumulative minutes (1,959) gave him approximately just 21 full matches' worth of action throughout the course of the 2025/26 campaign, which also took the Club World Cup into account. Compare and contrast that to Konsa's 48 appearances and 4,170 minutes played, clearly evidencing how much of a mainstay he was for Villa last season.
Why it matters for Chelsea FC
In terms of tackles made, the Chelsea man was involved in 33, 17 of which he won, for an average success rate just over the 50% mark. The Villa stalwart's very poor showing here might well be behind why Emery has decided to allow the defender to move on to pastures new. That's because despite Konsa playing more than double the minutes of his contemporary, he actually made fewer tackles (30), and won significantly fewer (13).
What comes next?
Tosin's heading abilities in 2025/26 were also better than Konsa's, the former making 90 headed clearances to the latter's 77. Headed duels saw both players lose almost the same amount (41 Tosin, 40 Konsa); however, the Blues' centre-back contested almost 40 more (121 to 82). In terms of clearances more generally, the Villa man edged it (164 to 139).
Perfect pass completion
There's a clear winner when it comes to the pair's ability to win back possession, with Konsa's 161 separate occasions far in excess of the 67 from Tosin, though they're on par with each other in one-on-one duels. As might be expected given the number of games played, Konsa has contested more (216 to 179), though Tosin's winning of 116 compared to his contemporary's 143 sees their success rate even out to roughly the same output.
Tosin isn't a downgrade
Indeed, the Chelsea man's best showing of 69.88% is slightly better than the 67.11% which was Konsa's top percentage over the course of the season. With Arsenal known to be one of the best passing sides in the English top flight, it won't have escaped anyone that Konsa's pass completion has been rock solid. His worst showing was 92.11%, but in the League Cup last season, he completed all 60 of his attempts, landing him a perfect 100% success rate.
