Tyrone Mings’ England call-up came somewhat out-of-the-blue but was not entirely a shock, with Steve Holland, the England coach, reportedly having been present at all three of Villa’s opening league games this season.
Through my claret and blue-tinted glasses, the elevation to the national squad is no more than Mings deserves following his hugely impressive and vitally important performances since joining Villa on loan from Bournemouth in January, a move made permanent this summer with a fee which could rise to £26.5m with add-ons.
With many ITK’s suggesting a fee of around £10m had been mooted in January, the eventual amount was seen by many as paying over-the-odds, Villa victims of their own (and Mings’) success in securing a promotion which seemed unlikely at the turn of the year.
I must confess, when I heard the fee had more than doubled from the one originally expected, I did immediately think that we were being ripped off. But Mings’ performances so far have wiped away any element of doubt, and in the context of Harry Maguire’s £80m move to Manchester United, securing Mings for less than a third of that may well prove to be the bargain of the summer (although that particular accolade could end up going to Bjorn Engels if he carries on as he has started).
Following our earlier piece on Mings’ call-up, social media has continued to sing his praises with most feeling it well-deserved on form and for his perseverance in the face of some serious injuries in his short career.
Thoroughly deserved call-up for Tyrone Mings. Southgate and/or Holland have been at #avfc's 3 PL games so far this season and he's been outstanding in all of them. As Dean Smith said a few weeks ago, the £21m fee will look a bargain soon…
— John Percy (@JPercyTelegraph) August 29, 2019
Fully deserved England call-up for Tyrone Mings. A superb player and a superb guy. If you're interested in his story, here's an interview I did with him last season. https://t.co/pBaRcXzm0C
— Matt Law (@Matt_Law_DT) August 29, 2019
Anyone who says Tyrone Mings doesn’t deserve a call up doesn’t understand football and obviously hasn’t seen him play last season or at the start of this season. The bloke is class. Congratulations @OfficialTM_3 👏 #avfc
— thevillazone (@thevillazone) August 29, 2019
I'm chuffed to bits for Mings. Fully justified in his call up. Man mountain of a defender and great with the ball at his feet or in the air.
Even after only 3 games, it's clear to see the fee we paid was an absolute bargain. #avfc
— Lewis (@lewjt11) August 29, 2019
Predictably, some of our rivals were less-than-complimentary, many of whom felt somehow cheated that Wolves’ Connor Coady had again been overlooked, despite his consistently good form over the past couple of years.
https://twitter.com/bradders_87/status/1167135280190676992?s=20
https://twitter.com/Danny_Powers/status/1167136805638025216?s=20
Can't see what Tyrone Mings, a decent player has done in three games to say he's more worthy of an England chance than say Conor Coady over twelve months. Southgate got the blinkers on?
— NUFCThreatLevel (@NUFCThreatLevel) August 29, 2019
How has Mings got into the England squad before Coady smh 🤦🏼♂️ #Wolves #tyronemings
— H (@GriptonHarvey) August 29, 2019
By all accounts, Coady excels in a back three, a formation not unfamiliar to England fans, so it would have perhaps not been surprising to see him in the squad. I don’t watch Wolves very often, but when I do, Coady always seems calm and assured and would certainly not look out of place in the England set-up.
To my mind, he looks much sounder defensively than Michael Keane or John Stones, for instance, but he doesn’t appear as comfortable on the ball as Stones or, crucially, Tyrone Mings. I think it’s fair to say Southgate knows his onions, defensively-speaking, so I look forward to seeing how Mings progresses at international level.
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