Aston Villa defender Tyrone Mings is delighted after committing his future to the club by signing a new contract extension this week.
The 29-year-old has made 149 appearances for the club since initially arriving on loan in January 2019, as he has gone on to establish himself as a fundamental figure in the side.
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However, with his previous deal set to expire in June 2024, there was an element of concern over his long-term future as whenever a player enters the final 12 months of their contract, it raises question marks as to whether they will be allowed to leave or be able to agree on new terms.
That was put to bed on Friday though, with Villa confirming in a club statement that Mings had put pen to paper on a new contract, extending his stay with us beyond next season.
Unsurprisingly, the Villa stalwart was delighted with the news and was full of praise for the fans, as he emphasised the importance of our support throughout his time at the club thus far, and it certainly sounds as though Mings is settled and striving to be better moving forward.
Mings on signing new Villa contract
“The last four years have been really good; tough at times but that’s only natural,” he told Villa TV. “I hope that everything Villa fans want to see from the club we can deliver. That hasn’t changed from the moment I walked in. The goalposts have changed a little bit from promotion to staying in the league, to consolidation to getting into Europe.
“I hope that we can finally deliver a trophy at some point and also get the club into Europe.”
“I love it [representing Villa]. Maybe the turbulent times have numbed me to showing loads of expression; I don’t get too high and I don’t get too down, result dependent. But my love and appreciation for the fans has never changed. I feel really settled, I feel really welcomed and I feel wanted.
“There have been certain periods where they’ve (the fans) really backed me and been vocal in support of my situation at the club. I can only thank them for that. Hopefully we can continue this journey.”
Mings on Emery role in new deal
While the graphic below expands on those comments from Mings, he was also asked about working under Unai Emery thus far and revealed that the Villa boss was highly influential in getting his new contract put on the agenda.
As Mings notes, that is a significant show of faith from the Spaniard in terms of how important he sees the England international in his plans moving forward, and he spoke on Friday about how he believes that there is still a lot of room for development and improvement in his game.
In turn, with Villa having a woeful record in Mings’ absence, it’s hoped he can continue to be a positive influence at the back, albeit there is still a need for Villa to strengthen in that department this summer to ensure we have quality competition and depth.
“He was really important,” Mings added on Emery. “The decision was ultimately initiated by him to start talking about trying to get negotiations started. That’s a really big show of faith from the manager so I can only thank him for the faith he has shown in me since he walked in the door.
“We have to repay that, I can only say good things about what we’ve achieved so far. I know the manager has big plans for the club, when you speak to him about his long-term plans, it makes it really easy to buy into that.”
First and foremost, it’s hoped that Mings is able to return from injury to face Arsenal this weekend, as we look to bounce back from back-to-back defeats in the league. Having missed him again last time out at Man City, Emery will no doubt be looking for a solid defensive display having conceded seven goals in our last two outings.
🗣 Tyrone Mings on signing his new Villa contract…👊🏽💜💙#avfc #UTV pic.twitter.com/F5hWzQwgKG
— Talk Villa (@thetalkvilla) February 17, 2023