Aston Villa are being tipped to reject advances from Arsenal for centre-back Ezri Konsa by former club scout Mick Brown.
Konsa started seven of eight games for England at the World Cup. He scored one goal and had the highest passing accuracy of any player at the tournament.
Following a consistent season at Aston Villa - who won the Europa League - it's little surprise that he's piqued the interest of Premier League champions Arsenal, particularly given they'll be without William Saliba for months.
But Brown feels Villa will turn the Gunners away, as losing Konsa would be a massive blow after the exits of some important players already this summer.
He told Football Insider: "It doesn't come as a surprise that Ezri Konsa is attracting interest.
"But I cannot see any way Aston Villa let him go when you look at the context of their transfer window and all of the other players who are on their way out.
"Aston Villa have already lost Youri Tielemans, they've lost Lucas Digne, they're losing Morgan Rogers, those are three very important players.
"If Ezri Konsa was to leave as well, that's going to be a serious concern for Aston Villa, so I expect Unai Emery will be clear that the club should not let him leave this summer.
"Emery wants to keep his best players at the club, he won't be happy at the ones that have already been sold, and it's only going to get worse if Konsa leaves as well.
"Interest from Arsenal is bound to be there, they want a player in his position and they've been impressed by him, but as far as Emery is concerned, he is not for sale."
Villa demands for Konsa known
Reports from different outlets place Konsa's price tag differently - some state it's £60million, while some suggest it's £50million.
Either way, it has previously been reported that Arsenal are not willing to pay the upper end of that in order to sign Konsa.
While either figure seems fair for a player of Konsa's ability, for Arsenal, he might simply be a stopgap until Saliba is fit again around the New Year. That's a lot of money for a stopgap.
The Gunners have also been linked with John Stones, who also has a great deal of Premier League and England experience, and would come as a free agent, having left Manchester City.
He might not expect the consistent game time that Konsa would, after a spell of injuries and with reference to the fact he's just left City, so he might be a more fitting addition.
