Tyrone Mings – Fantasy Football Potential

Woohoo!! We’ve finally signed him and I couldn’t be happier. Sorry for my excitement here but it’s been a long time since a player has had such an impact on the club and has managed to become such a cult hero so quickly.

After an incredibly successful 6 month loan spell Tyrone Mings becomes Villa’s 6th new signing this summer, 7th if you include the arrival of Guilbert, and is arguably the most pleasing. Eyebrows have been raised over the price Villa have paid to acquire the services of the imposing centre half, but you won’t find a single one from anyone associated with the club or within the fanbase.

Player History

At the age of 20 Mings joined Ipswich from Chippenham and went on to be a hugely integral part of their Championship campaigns for 2 seasons. Primarily featuring at left back he made a quick impression and was subject to interest from several Premier League teams. In the 63 games he played for The Tractor Boys he registered 1 goal and 8 assists before his move to Bournemouth for £8 million in the summer of 2015.

The move was anything but a success though. Following a very serious knee injury just 6 minutes into his debut he was ruled out for over a year and struggled to ever make it back into the first team. He only featured in 17 Premier League games over 4 years and ended up having more stamps on Ibrahimovic’s head than attacking returns.

However, it was the loan move to Aston Villa in January of this year that has reinvigorated his career and elevated him back into the thoughts of fans of the league and of the Fantasy Premier League. I for one was surprised when we signed him on loan in January, given that I viewed him more as a left back and we had dire needs at centre half.

Dean Smith immediately installed him in the centre of the defence and Villa’s fortunes changed almost immediately. Before joining, Villa were the 20th ranked defence in the Championship and were languishing well outside of the playoffs. In the games after his arrival we were a top 3 ranked defence. He was a crucial part in Villa’s record breaking 10 game winning run, a run that saw them concede just 5 goals and elevated them into the playoff places and then back up into the Premier League. A lot of the plaudits went to Grealish, McGinn and Abraham for the promotion but every single Villa fan will tell you that Mings was as important, if not more important, given the porous nature of the defence before his arrival.

Fantasy Football Potential

Coming into the game this week as a £4.5m defender he certainly has appeal as a 4th/5th choice, especially as many will be looking to load up on 3 top enders such as TAA, Robertson and Laporte. His experience at left back means he has an eye for a pass and after scoring 2 goals in 15 games at Villa he will have appeal from set pieces. He also registered 6 clean sheets in those games. He is a nailed on starter but at this current stage I do hold concerns over the clean sheet potential.

It’s looking increasingly likely that it will be a very new look back line with Guilbert and Targett lining up as full backs and Hause replacing Tuanzebe as the main centre back partner of Mings, so it will be interesting to see how they gel. But to be honest I think the most important and telling factors to Mings’ FPL value will be whether Villa can sign a new defensive midfielder and whether they manage to sign Tom Heaton or Jack Butland. In my honest opinion I don’t feel the goalkeeper options are strong enough at the moment and Conor Hourihane is not defensively disciplined enough to provide the cover for Grealish and McGinn.

So at this early stage I strongly suggest keeping an eye on further developments here. If moves are made in those 2 positions then Villa are looking at a very nice start fixture wise and Mings will certainly be in my thinking. Once they have visited White Hart Lane on the opening weekend their run of games is Bournemouth (H), Everton (H), Palace (A), West Ham (H), Arsenal (A), Burnley (H), Norwich (A), Brighton (H). About as appealing a run as any team can hope for at the start of a season.

It’s going to be interesting to see how Villa do in their return to the Premier League but one thing is for sure, if they are going to survive then a lot of it will be to do with Tyrone Mings.

Written by FPL Guru (@FPL_Guru_)

1 Response

  1. July 22, 2019

    […] joins the club this summer alongside fellow centre backs, Tyrone Mings and Ezri Konsa, meaning the Belgian will have stiff competition for a place in Smith’s starting […]

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