Aston Villa have been consumed by instability this summer, and it showed at Unai Emery's outfit were dismantled by Brighton & Hove Albion in a blistering first-half display.

Just after the half-hour mark, the Villans had managed to shut up shop. It was too late; Brighton had already put four past Marco Bizot.

Aston Villa have come back from early setbacks before. In 2023/24, they were thrashed 5-1 by Newcastle on the opening day of the Premier League season. Last term, Emery's side failed to win any of their first five top-flight fixtures, and they went on to finish fourth.

That proved enough for Champions League football, but Villa had another route into the continent's elite sphere, with Freiburg defeated in the Europa League final, and Aston Villa's players made immortal.

They've all gone. One by one. It certainly feels that way, and the Villans' defensive disaster on the south coast showed that Ezri Konsa will be sorely missed.

Why Ezri Konsa will be such a big miss at Aston Villa

Konsa has signed for Premier League champions Arsenal in a £55m deal, taking from Emery one of his most trusted lieutenants - among many more.

The England international is one of the biggest stalwarts from the Emery era, his rock-solid defending and composed and stylish passing establishing him as one of the Premier League's finest centre-backs - with enough athleticism and mobility to do a job out wide besides.

Ever-present, he played plenty of football across the years as a Villan, and while Emery and co have accepted that this is a transitional period for the club, the chastening nature of Sunday's 4-0 thrashing at the hands of Brighton emphasises the desperate need for a reliable replacement.

It might be difficult for the Midlands club to secure a ready-made superstar at this moment in time, but NSWE to have their sights trained on an up-and-comer who is eager to make the move to Villa Park before next week's deadline.

Aston Villa close in on signing Konsa replacement

Aston Villa are steadily rebuilding this summer. It may well have been that the title-winning pinnacle had been reached, but the overload of departures has obviously come as a shockwave that has created instability and uncertainty.

He might not be the finished article, but Joel Ordonez of Club Brugge could go a long way toward fixing a few of the Midlands side's defensive problems, now that Konsa has been sold.

Well, according to Belgian publication Gazet van Antwerpen, Aston Villa have now agreed personal terms with Ordonez, who is indeed keen on making the move to the Premier League.

It's expected that Emery and Villa will have to stump up around £35m-£40m to finalise a deal. Club-to-club negotiations have reached an advanced stage.

Ordonez is sidelined for up to ten weeks following a metatarsal fracture he suffered as Ecuador were knocked out of the World Cup by Mexico, but this hasn't stopped Villa from setting their sight son him as Konsa's long-term replacement at centre-back.

Analyst Spencer Mossman has confirmed that he is "ready to make the jump to the next level", with his data from the Belgian Pro League last season speaking of qualities that could allow him to step into Konsa's shoes.

There is a reason why so many top clubs have been linked, with Ordonez very much considered the kind of profile who could develop into a world-beater for one of the fines and most expectant clubs in Europe.

Across 33 league games in 2025/26, he completed 91% of his passes and won 4.3 duels per game, only making one mistake all term. Naturally composed and with an athletic charge that carries him forward, away from the defensive line, he has what it takes to succeed Konsa.

Konsa's supreme ball-playing ability, never the most expansive, but always crisp and precise, has been moulded against a remarkably confident ability in the duel that Villa will struggle to replace.

It might be a struggle, but it could be a success - and in the long run, emergent Ecuadorian Ordonez could be the perfect signing, arriving as an up-and-comer who would love nothing more than to play a defining role in the next phase of the Emery era.