Aston Villa boss Unai Emery was full of praise for Tyrone Mings amid questions over the centre-half’s long-term future at the club.
Mings, 29, has been a pivotal figure for us after initially joining on loan in 2019, having played a key role in our promotion before being a big part of the process of establishing ourselves as a Premier League side again.
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He has gone on to make 148 appearances for the club while earning 17 caps for England, but with his current contract set to expire in June 2024, question marks are seemingly starting to be raised over his long-term future at Villa.
It’s arguably never an ideal scenario for an important player to have just 12 months remaining on their deal, as that then leads to concern over whether or not an agreement can be reached on an extension, with an exit becoming increasingly likely in order to avoid losing that player for nothing when his contract runs down.
Given he has been a vital player for Emery since he arrived, it’s unsurprising to hear him praise Mings and although he didn’t explicitly suggest that a new contract is in the offing any time soon, he spoke of the Villa centre-half in such glowing terms that it comes across as though he would be keen to see him extend his stay.
“He’s working every day,” he said, as per BirminghamLive. “He’s very committed. He’s a very good person and a very good professional. We are trying to get out of him the best things. He’s trying and he’s doing.
“I know his contract is finishing not this year but next but I am very happy with him. His commitment with how we can improve and how he can improve and to be demanding – he is doing that. Hopefully, against Leicester as well we can get a good performance out of everybody and with Tyrone.”
Time will tell if that is indeed the case and Mings is offered a new deal, as although we have Diego Carlos returning from injury soon, there is a good case to be made that those two could be our strongest centre-half pairing.
Ezri Konsa will of course have something to say about that as he has been excellent this season in a return to top form, while it remains to be seen if Emery has plans to bring in his own signing in that department who fits his style and ideas better.
Admittedly, Mings has had a habit of making costly errors and there is a sense that he may never fully shake that off. That said, he’s a leader, a big presence on the pitch, commanding in the air and defensively sound for long periods, and so he still is a fundamental player for us.
In turn, it would make sense for Villa to try and agree an extension sooner rather than later if Emery wants him to stay, even if it is for competition if he has signings in mind, and that will likely be the key factor as the Spaniard no doubt has a major influence on decisions moving forward.