Tyrone Mings has recently made his international bow with the Three Lions of England on his chest and earns a reported £25,000 per week playing for Aston Villa in the Premier League but it hasn’t always looked like his career would take him down that path. Who is the Aston Villa’s Tyrone Mings these everything has given below.
It’s hard work making it pro
Mings spent his early years on the books at Southampton but was released from the system and dropped into the non-league circuit, which is a part of football he was all to aware of given his father’s prior experiences with Bath and Gloucester City.
Mings battled voices in his head telling him to pack the sport in whilst with Yate Town but a move to Chippenham transformed his life after he appeared on the radar of then Championship club Ipswich Town.
The Tractor Boys already had a very promising left back in Aaron Cresswell, who is now with West Ham, but at £10,000 Mings was a steal and when his opportunity presented itself, he grasped it with both hands.
Mings, who stands at 6 foot 5 inches tall and has a build that wouldn’t look out of place in America’s line NFL, quickly endeared himself to the fan base at Portman Road with his powerful bursts forward. All in all, Mings made 63 appearances for the Suffolk based club contributing one goal and eight assists before bigger things came calling.
Breaking the big time Aston Villa’s Tyrone Mings
In June 2015, Bournemouth put up £10m to sign Mings from Ipswich and he had made it to the Premier League. Considering where Mings had come from – a cheap non-league punt – to go into the top tier of English football in such a quick turnaround was a big step up and circumstances meant it was one he didn’t take to as smoothly as he would have liked.
His debut lasted just a handful of minutes as a nasty knee injury forced him off the field of play. On his return, question marks arose over Mings’ ability to cut it at the top with some erratic displays resulting in mistakes and red cards. It was probably a harsh stance given the injury situation but, regardless, Mings was forced to take a step back in his career.
Taking a step back to move forwards
If Mings’ Premier League pedigree was up for debate his effectiveness in the league below was undeniable and word of his potential availability had all the bigger Championship clubs interested. He penned a loan deal with Aston Villa where he worked under Steve Bruce and John Terry, two top class centre backs in their day, and he became a regular in the heart of defence as opposed to a full back.
It proved a switch that worked wonders for Mings – and Villa – as his height, pace and power helped him dominate most attackers in the division as he and his team, who were now managed by Dean Smith after Bruce was relieved of his duties, won promotion to the Premier League.
Proving you belong
On winning promotion, one of Smith’s first moves was to secure Mings as a permanent signing, which cost the club in the region of £20m. It’s already proven to be a snip though as Mings has earned rave reviews for his displays and England boss Gareth Southgate, an ex-Villa defender himself, has come calling.
If he can avoid any significant injuries, then it’s highly plausible the man who was on the brink of quitting non-league football not even a decade ago will be on the radar of the very top club sides and representing England at a major tournament.
