Did You Know? Five facts about possible England debutant and Aston Villa star Tyrone Mings

If you ask Aston Villa fans, 2019 has definitely been the year of Tyrone Mings so far.

The 26-year-old has revitalised his career since moving to Villa Park – initially on loan – from Bournemouth in January.

Since then, the towering centre-back has helped the club to promotion back to the Premier League, impressed in the top-flight and earned his first two England call ups.

The first of those came last month but the ex-Ipswich Town star didn’t get on the field in the victories against Bulgaria or Kosovo.

However, with Gareth Southgate’s side shipping three against Kosovo, the Bath-born defender has been tipped to receive his debut in either the match against Czech Republic on Friday or Bulgaria on Tuesday.

But how much do you know about Tyrone Mings? Here’s five facts to impress your mates with…

Bouncing Back 

Mings joined Southampton’s famed academy aged eight but his dream of becoming a professional footballer suffered a major setback at the age of 16 when the Saints released him. Some reports suggest the Saints let him go because they were making cuts to their youth set-up but the defender has since revealed that it was because his 5ft 8in frame was too small. Mings now stands at a towering 6ft 5in. We think maybe the Saints should’ve waited?

Close to Quitting

After Southampton let him go, Mings played for non-league sides Yate Town and Chippenham. During that time though, the centre-back considered quitting football altogether but after impressing he was snapped up by Ipswich Town in 2013 for just £10,000 and a pre-season friendly. After starring for the Tractor Boys he moved to Bournemouth and is now at Aston Villa. We bet he’s glad he didn’t hang those boots up.

Footballing Father

Tyrone is the son of Adie Mings. His footballing father was a former striker for non-league clubs Bath City and Gloucester City. He now works as a scout for Chelsea. The Mings really do have football in their blood.

Giving Back

Mings’ childhood saw him spend some time in a homeless shelter with his mum and siblings. Because of that and other experiences he’s gone through he’s a footballer who wants to use his privileged position to give back. The defender has previously spent part of his Christmas Day feeding the homeless, donated his complimentary match tickets to ‘skint’ fans, bought new shirts for supporters after changing his number and paid off his mother’s debts. What a guy!

Mings Means Business

Away from his stellar performances on the pitch, Mings has a business interest in Bournemouth-based interior design company KTM Design. He owns the firm with school friend Katie Thomas. As well as having an interest in property and design, Mings also has his own football academy in the south west for children aged between 6-16.